The Rise of Skywalker - A New Darkness
by Lion94
Summary: An epic alternate ending to the Skywalker Saga. It involves Kylo Ren, who finds out about the secrets of Palpatine and cloning, all the while a Yuuzhan Vong threat is set to destroy the galaxy. A little Reylo. Kylo survives TROS. Vader returns, and maybe more...
1. The Vision Of A New Darkness

_**Hello everyone. Welcome to my fanfiction. I started this because of the terrible ending that TROS got, in my opinion. I like to think of my own version of the ending to the Skywalker Saga, and I will share it with you. I am a non-native English speaker, so there might be some grammar or spelling issues. Sooner or later I will fix them though. I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think.**_

Kylo Ren just had a confrontation with Palpatine. He learned that Palpatine survived all this time and was building the mighty Sith Fleet. The fleet that Kylo could have if he brought Rey to Palpatine.

Kylo turned away and walked over to his ship. During the walk, he could not help but notice a Sith Holocron calling to him. The calling came from an area close to the halls where he met Palpatine. Kylo followed the calling through a corridor and found himself in an ancient hall. On the walls were many Sith inscriptions and drawings. There were many old books and data stored in this room. But that was not all. Kylo saw 5 tables of stone in the hall. Two on the sides and one at the very end of the hall. The ones at the sides were displaying some ancient Sith artifacts. The table at the end of the room held the Sith Holocron that was calling out to Kylo. The Holocron was glowing red more intensely as Kylo came closer.

Kylo stopped. "Palpatine will know," he thought. As he quickly thought of a way to learn what was inside this Holocron without Palpatine finding out, he thought of a plan. Kylo remembered how he hid his action and intention of killing Snoke. He remembered how he cloaked his movement and hid his thoughts for Snoke. Palpatine could easily feel what Kylo was up to if he did not hide his intentions. Palpatine would surely find out that he did not return to his ship, but instead went looking for Sith Holocrons. Kylo did not want Palpatine to know. Kylo reached out in the force and projected himself to Palpatine, walking around the great halls of Exegol, on his way to his ship. Kylo quickly moved to the Holocron and extended his arm. His hand reached in the direction of the Holocron. Only the Dark Side of the force could open this piece of Sith secrets, and within an instant, the Holocron opened to Kylo. It was as if the Holocron wanted to be opened by him, as Kylo felt a sort of relief from the Holocron when it opened.

"What? No!" Kylo said to himself. "This can't be true, I won't let it come to this!"

The opened Sith Holocron showed a terrible and dark secret. A secret of unimaginable scale and consequence. Kylo was shocked by what he had uncovered. The Sith Holocron held information about an Alien race called the Yuuzhan Vong. The Holocron showed Kylo a vision. The Vision lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to Kylo. A tear ran down Kylo's left eye as he witnessed the vision. Kylo saw with his own eyes how the galaxy burned. Planets destroyed, people, aliens, and other creatures massacred or enslaved by countless Yuuzhan Vong ships and troops. Their ships were huge and their monstrous soldiers were legion. Trillions of beings brutally killed. The galaxy in chaos. Despair on the last remaining worlds. Soon, the whole galaxy would be overrun. Their coming is inevitable. Resistance is futile. The Vong are coming.

The vision was over. Kylo snapped back to reality, breathing heavily. His eyes widened as he realized something. Palpatine must have known the Vong were coming. He knew they were coming and that the galaxy had no chance to defeat them as the republic. Palpatine created the Empire, not just for personal gain of power. He feared the Vong! Palpatine's actions and plan were clear now thanks to this Holocron. Palpatine knew the Republic with the senate, bureaucracy, inaction, lack of proper military and corrupt politicians would never have been able to defend the galaxy from the Vong. Just as much would the Jedi cause a problem. The Jedi council would, as always, advise and act too weak. Palpatine knew they would all act too late if they acted at all. And of course, Palpatine kept this secret to himself and only a few others he trusted, because if he tried to convince the galaxy to make itself ready for war with the Vong, mass panic would destroy any chance of a successful defense against the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.

The Empire was created by Palpatine, so he had absolute power. The Sith dream of this kind of power. But what is power when you have no Empire to rule? What is an Emperor to a galaxy of dust? No, the Vong had to be repelled, defeated. And Palpatine thought the best way, the only way for a small chance, was to rule with an iron fist. Only then the galaxy would be somewhat ready for an invading terror from beyond. A united, well trained galactic Navy, using a great fleet of Star Destroyers and TIE-fighters. A galactic army, consisting of well-trained Stormtroopers, AT-ST walkers and technologically advanced AT-AT's. A Death Star to force the cooperation of resisting planets and also function as a superweapon to use against the Vong invaders. All forces combined to fend off the inevitable Vong invasion.

Kylo was stunned by what the Sith Holocron had revealed. Palpatine's true endgame plan in the time of the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War was now very clear to see. But that was not all. Kylo now knew there was a horror from beyond on its way to the galaxy. The galaxy that he thought he knew. To think this whole galaxy would be in flames after the Vong invasion was incomprehensible, yet so real and fearful. This Yuuzhan Vong terror from beyond the known galaxy was on its way, and nothing could stop it.


	2. Abilities Some Consider To Be Unnatural

_**Hello everyone. Welcome to my fanfiction. I started this because of the terrible ending that TROS got, in my opinion. I like to think of my own version of the ending to the Skywalker Saga, and I will share it with you. I am a non-native English speaker, so there might be some grammar or spelling issues. Sooner or later I will fix them though. I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think.**_

Kylo Ren just had a confrontation with Palpatine. He learned that Palpatine survived all this time and was building the mighty Sith Fleet. The fleet that Kylo could have if he brought Rey to Palpatine.

Kylo turned away and walked over to his ship. During the walk, he could not help but notice a Sith Holocron calling to him. The calling came from an area close to the halls where he met Palpatine. Kylo followed the calling through a corridor and found himself in an ancient hall. On the walls were many Sith inscriptions and drawings. There were many old books and data stored in this room. But that was not all. Kylo saw 5 tables of stone in the hall. Two on the sides and one at the very end of the hall. The ones at the sides were displaying some ancient Sith artifacts. The table at the end of the room held the Sith Holocron that was calling out to Kylo. The Holocron was glowing red more intensely as Kylo came closer.

Kylo stopped. "Palpatine will know," he thought. As he quickly thought of a way to learn what was inside this Holocron without Palpatine finding out, he thought of a plan. Kylo remembered how he hid his action and intention of killing Snoke. He remembered how he cloaked his movement and hid his thoughts for Snoke. Palpatine could easily feel what Kylo was up to if he did not hide his intentions. Palpatine would surely find out that he did not return to his ship, but instead went looking for Sith Holocrons. Kylo did not want Palpatine to know. Kylo reached out in the force and projected himself to Palpatine, walking around the great halls of Exegol, on his way to his ship. Kylo quickly moved to the Holocron and extended his arm. His hand reached in the direction of the Holocron. Only the Dark Side of the force could open this piece of Sith secrets, and within an instant, the Holocron opened to Kylo. It was as if the Holocron wanted to be opened by him, as Kylo felt a sort of relief from the Holocron when it opened.

"What? No!" Kylo said to himself. "This can't be true, I won't let it come to this!"

The opened Sith Holocron showed a terrible and dark secret. A secret of unimaginable scale and consequence. Kylo was shocked by what he had uncovered. The Sith Holocron held information about an Alien race called the Yuuzhan Vong. The Holocron showed Kylo a vision. The Vision lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to Kylo. A tear ran down Kylo's left eye as he witnessed the vision. Kylo saw with his own eyes how the galaxy burned. Planets destroyed, people, aliens, and other creatures massacred or enslaved by countless Yuuzhan Vong ships and troops. Their ships were huge and their monstrous soldiers were legion. Trillions of beings brutally killed. The galaxy in chaos. Despair on the last remaining worlds. Soon, the whole galaxy would be overrun. Their coming is inevitable. Resistance is futile. The Vong are coming.

The vision was over. Kylo snapped back to reality, breathing heavily. His eyes widened as he realized something. Palpatine must have known the Vong were coming. He knew they were coming and that the galaxy had no chance to defeat them as the republic. Palpatine created the Empire, not just for personal gain of power. He feared the Vong! Palpatine's actions and plan were clear now thanks to this Holocron. Palpatine knew the Republic with the senate, bureaucracy, inaction, lack of proper military and corrupt politicians would never have been able to defend the galaxy from the Vong. Just as much would the Jedi cause a problem. The Jedi council would, as always, advise and act too weak. Palpatine knew they would all act too late if they acted at all. And of course, Palpatine kept this secret to himself and only a few others he trusted, because if he tried to convince the galaxy to make itself ready for war with the Vong, mass panic would destroy any chance of a successful defense against the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.

The Empire was created by Palpatine, so he had absolute power. The Sith dream of this kind of power. But what is power when you have no Empire to rule? What is an Emperor to a galaxy of dust? No, the Vong had to be repelled, defeated. And Palpatine thought the best way, the only way for a small chance, was to rule with an iron fist. Only then the galaxy would be somewhat ready for an invading terror from beyond. A united, well trained galactic Navy, using a great fleet of Star Destroyers and TIE-fighters. A galactic army, consisting of well-trained Stormtroopers, AT-ST walkers and technologically advanced AT-AT's. A Death Star to force the cooperation of resisting planets and also function as a superweapon to use against the Vong invaders. All forces combined to fend off the inevitable Vong invasion.

Kylo was stunned by what the Sith Holocron had revealed. Palpatine's true endgame plan in the time of the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War was now very clear to see. But that was not all. Kylo now knew there was a horror from beyond on its way to the galaxy. The galaxy that he thought he knew. To think this whole galaxy would be in flames after the Vong invasion was incomprehensible, yet so real and fearful. This Yuuzhan Vong terror from beyond the known galaxy was on its way, and nothing could stop it.


	3. The Dead Speak

Kylo Ren had a lot to think about. It was no small thing he had learned. He needed some time to process the information of the incoming Yuuzhan Vong, and the vision that he experienced; where he had seen the history of Palpatine and Darth Plagueis the Wise. Kylo had never heard of an ability that could save others from death, and even escape death for the Sith itself. He also wanted to think about his next step with Rey. Only a few hours ago, Rey, Finn and Poe boarded his Star Destroyer to rescue Chewbacca. A name that pains Kylo, as it reminds him of his father. Kylo knew very well that for a long time, Chewbacca and Han Solo were a golden team. But most of all he could not understand why Rey would not take his hand. "I know she is struggling. I can feel the Dark Side in her. One day, she will take my hand and we shall rule together." Kylo kept telling himself.

Once aboard his Star Destroyer, Kylo headed to his meditation room. He sat down in front of Vader's burnt helmet and started to channel the force in meditation. Suddenly Kylo heard Darth Vaders voice, saying: "You have become strong in the Dark Side of the force." Kylo was confused and excited at the same time. Do not fear my voice, but heed it." The voice said. "Go away!" Kylo shouted, thinking Palpatine was playing tricks with him. Kylo remembered Palpatine saying he was every voice Kylo ever heard inside his head. "Do not mistake me for a force trick, young Skywalker!" "Maybe this isn't Palpatine after all." Kylo thought. "Is it you, is it the real Vader?" "Yes, It is me. You know it is." Said Darth Vaders voice. "Why do I hear you as Vader? "Is it true you turned back to the Light Side in the end?" Kylo could not help but ask Vaders voice. "I am the chosen one. I have been Jedi, and now I am Sith. I betrayed Palpatine because he was killing Luke. I could not let him take Luke from me." "I acted on emotion, emotion the Jedi teach to suppress. I am still Sith. And as you know, the point of view determines what is good and evil." "The Sith and the Dark Side is only a way to use the force. And I have seen the ways of the Jedi. The Sith and the Dark Side are what this galaxy needs for it to have order and peace." Kylo smiled. "I knew the rumors were lies. I knew you were just saving Luke." "All I hoped to achieve was to rule the galaxy as father and Son." Said the voice of Vader. "I will commune with you again soon, young Skywalker." Was the last thing Vaders voice said before the connection broke. Only a very powerful Sith could communicate with living beings after death. Kylo was empowered by this experience and became even more determined to become more powerful in the Dark Side

Kylo was just about to take some rest. Suddenly there was a knocking on the door of his chambers. "Supreme Leader, I have an urgent message." Said the Captian guarding his quarters. With a deep sigh, Kylo used the force to slide open the door. "What is it now Captain?" "Sir, we've tracked the Millenium Falcon to the Endor moon, Kef Bir." "Any reason for the Resistance to go there?" "No sir, but there is Death Star wreckage on that planet." "Rey! It must be her. Looking for the Wayfinder of course." "Prepare my ship Captain!"

A little while later Kylo landed on Kef Bir. Kylo confronted Rey. The duel begins. The feeling of fighting with Rey unlike anything Kylo had ever felt in battle. Although he was fighting a Jedi, it did not feel good for Kylo. It was with great remorse that he knew he could and should kill her. Why didn't she just take his hand? Why wouldn't she want power? What is she fighting for anyway? Kylo gained the upper hand in the fight. His red lightsaber flying swiftly through the air. Kylo was too powerfull for Rey.

Rey knew she was not going to win the duel. But that would not matter, for she had a plan set up all along. She reached out with her mind to the force, to Leia. "Now Leia!" She communicated using the force. Suddenly Kylo was stunned. He heard his mother, Leia, calling to him. This distracted Kylo so much, that Rey found an opportunity to stab Kylo with her lightsaber. Rey thrust her lightsaber into the chest of Kylo. Kylo collapsed. At the same time, Leia disappeared from Ajan Kloss and became one with the force.

Kylo was severely wounded by the lightsaber that had impaled him. Rey, shocked by what she had done, sat down next to Kylo. She thought she would be happy and relieved that she finally got him. But instead, she felt terrible. Rey put her hand next to the wound she had just inflicted on Kylo. Without any confidence in what she was about to try, he wanted to undo this life-threatening wound. She reached out to the force and thought of a healthy Kylo Ren, of all the life force around her. She then transferred some of her life-force from her to Kylo. The lightsaber wound closed by this event. The burned skin turned undamaged and Kylo regained his strength. Kylo looked at Rey full of confusion. "Why would she do this? Why would she heal me?"

"I wanted to take your hand, but not as enemies" "I want to see the good in you. I want us to work together against Palpatine!" Said Rey.

Kylo felt his strength return after Rey healed him. It meant a great deal to him for Rey to tell him that she wanted to work together and that she did want to take his hand. This means Rey is not just another Jedi that only believes in the old ways, maybe there is some middle ground to be achieved.

Rey ran away, leaving Kylo behind. Kylo got up and looked at how Rey took his Tie Silencer and flew away with it. "The girl is the key to victory, young Skywalker." Kylo froze. He heard the voice of Darth Vader again. "The girl is more powerful, more important than you know." "It is wise to keep her alive." Bedore Kylo could answer, Vader continued: "You must defeat Palpatine, for he will not win the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. I have seen this in a vision. And so will you." As the voice of Vader had spoken, Kylo found himself in a vision again.

Again, only a few seconds passed, but it felt like ages to Kylo. Kylo saw an Empire, a great fleet and a huge army. All equipped with the latest technology and weapons. At the head of the Empire was Palpatine, who had risen to power once more. Next, Kylo saw what looked like a 1000 battles between the Empire and the Yuuzhan Vong at the same time. Heavy losses were seen by Kylo. The Empire could not fully focus on the Ving war because it was attacked from the inside all the time. Many systems and rebellious groups were sabotaging the Imperial rule from within. They underestimated the Vong immensely and were trying to end the Empire and restore the bureaucratic Republic. These rebels in the vision were foolish enough as to think they could negotiate and engage in diplomacy with the Yuuzhan Vong. The galaxy burned. Palpatine was unable to defeat the Vong invaders. Palpatine was not the right person in charge of the defense against the Yuuzhan Vong.

"A glimpse of the future." Said Vaders voice as the vision ended. "The galaxy will fail if Palpatine is in power when the Yuuzhan Vong invade." "Listen carefully, Skywalker: Defeat Palpatine with the help of Rey. You alone cannot best him."

"Once you have defeated Palpatine and he is gone, you will perform the Ritual of Zendar."

"Palpatine has clones of himself stored away on Exogol as part of a failsafe. He has clones of me too if anything ever happened to his apprentice." "Perform the Ritual of Zendar, and I shall return." "All you need to know about this ritual will be found on Exogol." "Together with the girl, we shall then take on the Yuuzhan Vong." Said Darth Vaders voice...


	4. The Battle Of Exegol - Part l

Kylo inspected the Sith Fleet. The thousands of Star Destroyers were a sight to behold. The Star Destroyers were equipped with many powerful turbolasers and the best armor and shields. A new addition was also added. Apparently Palpatine's engineers had found a way to attach a superlaser to the Star Destroyers. This Axial Superlaser as it is called, could, if necessary, destroy a small planet. These new and improved additions make the Xyston-class Star Destroyer. To think it could all be his. And all he had to do was either bring Rey to Palpatine or, as the voice of Vader said, kill Palpatine with the help of Rey. A hard choice. If he would win against Palpatine by fighting together with Rey, what happens after that?

Kylo had seen red armored Stormtroopers on these Star Destroyers as he inspected them. On the command ship, Kylo walked up to what seemed to be the commander of these red armored Sith Troopers. "Who are you?" Kylo asked him. "I am Commander Thorne, sir." "I lead the Sith Troopers stationed on Exegol." "Tell me of these Sith Troopers, commander," said Kylo. "We are a special forces combat group, sir. We are all trained from a young age in the use of many blasters and equipment. The red armor strikes fear in the heart of our enemies and it is inspired by the red lightsabers of the Sith." "Each Sith Trooper is a devoted soldier and Sith follower. We are at your command." Kylo liked the sound of that. An elite Sith Fleet and army. He could use them very well.

Kylo returned to his private quarters. He sat down and could not help himself contemplating what he should do. Bring Rey to Palpatine or work with her to defeat him?

Suddenly a loud alarm was heard. The sound of the alarm could be heard all across the ship. "Alert. Alert. Resistance fighters have entered Exegol space. They are engaging the fleet." Kylo heard from the ship's intercom. "Man your battlestations. Tie-pilots, report to the nearest hangar for briefing."

This is it. The resistance has come to destroy Palpatine. "But they are too weak. Only a handful of ships made it to Crait. The Resistance only has some fighters left. It is nothing for all these Star Destroyers." Kylo thought. Now, a choice must be made. Kylo closed his eyes. "I know what I must do." He said to himself as made his way to the Exegol temple where Palpatine was..


	5. The Battle Of Exegol - Part ll

While flying to Exegol, Kylo contacted Vicrul, his most loyal knight of Ren. "Assemble the Knights. Find me on Exegol and follow my lead. Now" Kylo ordered Vicrul. Kylo flew past the Sith Fleet, who were engaging the resistance force. Their Star Destroyers and tie-fighters were slaughtering the resistance fighters. What were they thinking to attach such a powerfull fleet? "I see they left that rustbucket behind" Kylo thought, as he couldn't see his fathers ship the Millennium Falcon anywhere. He thought too soon. His scanners picked up a signal from hundreds of ships coming out of hyperspace behind him. The Millennium Falcon at the head of them all. The resistance had found allies after all. Many battleships and fighters allying themselves with the resistance came to join the battle. "Fools, they will still lose this battle." Kylo thought as he flew down to the surface of Exogol.

Kylo landed his Tie-silencer at the entrance of the Sith temple. Next to Luke's old X-wing. "Rey must already be inside." he thought. "I have made my choice, and I will go through with it."

As Kylo neared the center area where Palpatine was, so did he sense Rey more and more. Rey must be close to Palpatine. "I can't be too late!" Kylo thought as he entered the center of the Sith temple. He heard a great audience chanting. From afar. It was as if thousands of voices were united.

Then, Kylo saw a blue lightsaber. It lighted up the dark place they were in. Opposite the lightsaber was Palpatine, still in his robotic contraption. "She will strike me down and claim her destiny as Empress Palpatine!" he heard echoing through the temple. Kylo was so close to Rey, but as he knew all it took was one strike from Rey to end his plan, he seemed so far. Rey felt the weight of the world crushing down on her shoulders. "What do I do?" She thought. No choice in her life was ever as important as this one. "Would it all be over if I killed Palpatine?" "Will he trick me or corrupt me?" "Killing someone who is not fighting me is against the Jedi way" "What other option is there?" "Will I be a good Empress?" All these questions were flashing through her mind and she had no time to think about them.

Suddenly, Rey sensed Kylo's presence. He was very close, only a few steps away even! How could Rey not have sensed him earlier and from further away? Kylo hid his presence and intentions again. Like he did when he turned and ignited the lightsaber that killed Snoke. "Rey. Together!" she heard in her mind. "Kylo! Let's do this!" Rey said, surprised by her own reaction. Now there was no doubt in her mind, no hesitation. This was the way, she felt it.

Rey heard footsteps. But it was not Kylo. She looked around her and she saw a large group of Royal Guards surrounding her. They were fearsome looking in their red armor. She heard fighting behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Kylo Ren in battle with the Royal Guards. He force choked one guard while he slashed another with his cross-guarded lightsaber. Rey joined the fight. She force-pushed 3 guards away and then engaged them with their lightsaber. It was just as in Snoke's throneroom. The Royal Guards kept coming. They were engaged by another group. The Knights of Ren were here. Kylo saw Vicrul leading the Knights of Ren into battle with Palpatine's guards. After a while, the guards were defeated. But so were the Knights of Ren. Only Vicrul survived, and he was heavily wounded. "Return to the ship," Kylo said while regaining his breath and looked at Vicrul. Vicrul limped back to the Ren ship. Now, it was time to face Palpatine.

Rey closed her eyes. She held her lightsaber in both hands and then she ran towards Palpatine. She pointed the lightsaber at Palpatine while she ran. She wanted to impale him. She was about to strike Palpatine when a red lightsaber was seen, flying through the air. Kylo was mid-jump in his attack on Palpatine. Both lightsabers, blue and red, were about strike Palpatine at the exact same time.

The dashing Rey and jumping Kylo froze. Rey was frozen in her running attack. Kylo was frozen mid-air. They could move nothing. They could not speak. Their lightsabers still lighted the dark Sith temple as the voice of the audience became louder with chanting.

"My granddaughter, the last Jedi and Kylo Ren, leader of the First Order. Fighting together. Against me." "Hehehehahaha" sounded the menacing laugh of Palpatine. "How ironic." Said Palpatine as fired his force lightning at Rey and Kylo. They both screamed in pain as they fell to the ground, no longer frozen by the force. They were wounded. "You stand together, you die together!" Palpatine shouted as he sapped their life force from them as they lay on the ground. Palpatine regained his old form. His blind eyes turned yellow again. His old and weak body returned to the state it was in after Order 66. Palpatine unshackled himself from his dark contraption. He no longer needed it as he could now stand on his own. Surprisingly, he saw Kylo and Rey still breathing.

Kylo got up first. He heard the voice of Darth Vader once more. "You must get up. You will strike him down. This is your destiny." Vaders voice said to Kylo. This gave Kylo the strength that he needed. He force-reached his lightsaber and ignited it again. The dark space lighted up with red. Rey was still on the ground. She opened her eyes as she heard many voices. "Rey get up" "Stand up Rey!" "Trust in the force" "See the light" "come on Rey" "The force is around you." "We stand behind you." "Your fate lies in front of you." Rey heard all these things from different voices. Although she never met all of them, she knew it were the voices of Luke, Leia, Yoda, Obi-Wan and the voice of all the Jedi. This gave her the strength to get up. She saw that Palpatine was extending his arms, ready to shoot another wave of force-lightning at her and Kylo. "You have thrown away your chance for unlimited power!" Palpatine shouted, accompanied by shooting his force-lightning. Rey held her lightsaber in her left hand and raised it. "Wraaahhh!" Rey screamed of anger. With her right hand, she shot force-lightning back at Palpatine. This resulted in a stalemate between Rey and Palpatine. Rey blocked the force lightning of Palpatine with her lightsaber and by shooting force-lightning back herself. In the middle of them, a blinding collision of both their force-lightning crashing into each other. Who could hold on the longest? Palpatine gained the upper hand, he was too powerful for Rey. His force-lightning came closer and closer to Rey, who tried with all her power to hold it back.

Suddenly, Rey saw a red lightsaber flying in the air again. This time, Kylo wasn't holding it. The red lightsaber was thrown. It severed both of Palpatine's arms off. "Heeeeaaaargggg!" Palpatine's scream echoed in the Sith temple. The audience chanted faster and louder. Without Palpatine shooting his force-lightning, Rey focussed her mind and absorbed the remaining lightning. She then extended both her arms and shot that lightning at Palpatine. Palpatine disintegrated instantly. Only small pieces of his robe were left on the ground.

Rey collapsed. She was so weak and now she had used the last of her own energy to end Palpatine. She lay on the ground. Kylo rand towards her. "Rey! Hold on!" He said. "Kylo, is it over?" Rey asked. "Yes, he is gone," Kylo answered. "No! No!" Rey said. "What is it?" Asked Kylo. "He is still here somewhere! I can feel it." Said Rey. "The clones," Kylo said silently. Kylo thought of what Vaders voice had said. Palpatine kept clones of himself and others so that he could live on. That is how he survived the first time. The essence transfer! Kylo closed his eyes and focussed on the presence of Palpatine. Rey was right. He did still sense him! "I must stop him before he returns again!" Kylo said to Rey. Rey didn't answer anymore, but Kylo did not notice that as he followed the essence of Palpatine. It was so clear now. It was as if he followed a firefly in the dark, he could clearly sense where the essence of Palpatine went. Kylo ran after the essence and found himself in another room. He saw bacta tanks. Some of them were empty, and some of them had a body in it. First, he saw a tank with Snoke's body in it. He had a clone of Snoke aswell. The room was filled with the Dark Side of the force and cloning technology. He followed Palpatine's essence further, where he saw a row of 10 bacta tanks. One of them was empty, and the other 9 had various stages of life in them. At least 3 tanks had a full-grown body in them. Kylo saw that these 3 bodies were Palpatine's. He saw younger versions of the Palpatine he knew. The other 6 tanks with stages of life in them, were still growing to be full bodies. The one empty tank must have been the body Palpatine used to essence transfer to after he "died" on the second Death Star.

Kylo felt the essence nearing the first of the 3 full-grown bodies. Of Palpatine's essence entered one of those 3 bodies, he would live on again! "Destroy them all." guided Darth Vaders voice. Kylo ignited his lightsaber and began slashing at the 9 bacta tanks, starting with the ones containing the 3 fully grown bodies. Glass shattered on the ground, bacta spilled on the stones. The bodies destroyed by Kylo's lightsaber. They were all destroyed. Palpatine's essence could not return to one of his bodies. It was over. Finally done, or so he thought. "The essence can still take hold of another clone!" Vader said. "There is no time to find and destroy all clones." "Repeat these words" _"Dano'lest Sith'ir Horinu Wuronith Dano'sek Sith'an!"_ Kylo repeated the ancient Sith language. As he had spoken the words, his mind felt relieved. It was as if a 1000-year-old pain had suddenly healed. The sense of relief was overwhelming. The essence of Palpatine was gone. "What did you have me repeat?" Kylo asked. "An essence cleansing. I learned this in secret from the ritual of Zendar when Palpatine was still my master." "I will tell you later. Return to the girl!" "Save her!" Said Vaders voice. "Rey!" Kylo thought as he returned to her. Her lifeless body was laying on the ground. "No, we were supposed to rule together!" Kylo said. But Rey was gone. Tears ran down Kylo's face. He had hidden his feelings for her, but bow he had to face the fact that he loved her, and he couldn't ever be with her. "This is not the end Ben." Use the force!" "Save the girl." Luke. He heard Lukes voice, as well as Vader's voice. They were both speaking to him. Without truly understanding what he had to do, he followed his feelings. Guided by Luke, Kylo put his hand on Rey's chest. He felt nothing, her heart was still. Kylo then focussed on his life force, on all living things. He focussed on Rey, and on her living memory. Before he knew it, he felt his own life force sapping away, into Rey. He felt his hand turn warmer and warmer. Rey was very pale but color returned to her skin. He felt her heartbeat again. And finally, Rey opened her eyes. Kylo did not believe what he had seen. "You.." she said. "Is he gone?" "He is." Kylo said calmly, still not believing what he saw. "You saved me." "I saved you. And I love you." Kylo never thought he would say this, but it was the only right thing he could say. Rey kissed him. They both looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Kylo pulled back. He stood up and turned his back to Rey.


	6. The Battle Of Exegol - Part lll

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I am Sith. You.. a Jedi" "Not anymore! You are Ben Solo! You used the Light Side to heal me!" Rey Said. "And you used the Dark Side to kill Palpatine." said Kylo.

Rey paused for a moment. She realized that she did intentionally use the Dark Side. "I had to, to end him." "I did not use it to be evil." Rey replied. "Evil? Who decides what is good and evil?" "Do you think I want to be evil? That the First Order does?" It depends on how you look at the world" "From my point of view the Jedi are evil." Kylo said.

"No, we can't be like in Snoke's throneroom again!" Our destiny is to be together. I believe we can finally bring balance to the force." Rey said desperately. "As Jedi? Or as Sith?" "Neither" said Rey. "We both used the Dark Side and the Light. That is balance if you ask me." Rey Said.

"None of this will matter soon." Kylo said. "Why is that?" Asked Rey. Kylo sighed. "I was hoping you would take my hand, rule together as Emperor and Empress of the First Order. I would have told you about the Yuuzhan Vong." Kylo said.

"What is a Yuuzhan Vong?" Rey asked, angry at Kylo for still holding on to the Dark Side and the First Order. Kylo walked away from Rey. "I will join the battle above, the fleet needs me." Maybe I will meet you in a duel again up there!" Kylo said, angry at Rey for not joining him. "What about that name you said? Why won't the Jedi or Sith matter soon?" Kylo stopped. "You haven't seen what I have." "Then show me!" She said. Kylo walked up to Rey. "Fine!" "I will show you the result of you not joining me!" Kylo force reached into the dark. The Sith Holocron that contained the Yuuzhan Vong Secret landed in his hand. In his one hand, Kylo held the Holocron. His other hand reached for Rey's head. "This is why it won't matter soon!" Kylo said. He closed his eyes. So did Rey. Kylo projected the vision he saw from the Holocron to Rey. Rey now had seen the same thing he had seen. The Yuuzhan Vong were coming to doom the known galaxy. During the vision, Rey looked as if she was in pain. She saw all those horrible sights of the burning galaxy by the invading Vong.

Something else happened. The vision was longer than the first time Kylo got to experience it. The last part of the vision showed what seemed to be a Yuuzhan Vong scouting fleet. They were so close to finding the knows galaxy. It would only take a few more months before they could be here!

Kylo and Rey both opened their eyes at the same time, looking at each other.

"We have to stop them," Rey said. "Have you seen what I saw?" Rey asked desperately. "I have. I saw it once before already. So did Palpatine." "The Empire was Palpatine's plan to defend against them. The Death Star was meant to use against THEM." Kylo said. "Rey looked confused. "We must warn the galaxy," she said. "Wait," Kylo said. "Mass panic will do the defense of the galaxy no good." We must unite the galaxy, tell them of the incoming threat and prepare for war if we are to survive." Said Rey. "As Sith, or as Jedi?" Kylo asked, returning to the debate. "Who cares? We must stand together in this!" Kylo was surprised Rey took the incoming invasion seriously. Maybe there was a chance it could work. "We should try," Kylo said. "Don't expect me to become a Jedi" he added. "I won't," Rey said, "As long as I don't have to be Sith."


	7. New Beginnings

Rey looked up through the opening of the ancient Sith temple. A massive space battle was overhead. She saw many explosions, lasers and ships all in a great battle. She could not believe how many ships had come to the aid of the resistance. And neither could she believe how big and organized the Sith Fleet was. The ships fired on each other with all their firepower. Once in a while, the Axial superlaser underneath the Xyston-class Star Destroyers fired on a resistance ship, destroying it instantly.

"Up there, we've got to stop this," Rey said. "Easier said than done," Kylo replied. "There has to be a way! We can't keep fighting each other if we are to stand against that Vong invasion!" said Rey. "Who is the leader of this Final Order now?" "I am" Kylo said when he looked up. "I'm the leader of the First Order. With Palpatine gone, I will lead the Final Order as well." "Hurry! The more ships we save, the more ships can defend against the Vong!" Rey shouted as she ran back to Luke's old X-wing.

Kylo waited for a little while. He looked up once more. The Sith Fleet could destroy the Resistance and all of their ships. The thought of wiping out the Resistance was tempting, but Rey would never forgive him and certainly never turn to the Dark Side and join him if he did. After all, Rey was right. They could use every ship they had.

Kylo did not run to his tie-silencer. He had something else to do on Exogol. Something the voice of Vader had said. But first, call off the fleet. As Kylo did not yet fully trust Rey, he waited until she called off the Resistance fleet first. Kylo saw the old X-wing fly over the opening in the Sith temple toward one of the Resistance flagships.

Rey landed inside the hanger of "First Moon", a huge MC-80 battleship of the Resistance. She made her way to the bridge. "Admiral! You must call off the fleet!" "Get off the bridge girl, I'm fighting a huge Final Order fleet!" said Admiral Tykkus. Tykkus was a brilliant Mon Calamari admiral, who served under Admiral Ackbar during the Galactic Civil War. "Please admiral, listen to me!" Rey pleaded. "Enough of this, remove her from my bridge. I cannot concentrate on the battle like this! "And raise those damn shields!" admiral Tykkus shouted at his crew.

Two guards came at Rey, both having no idea who she was. Rey took matters into her own hands. She lifted her hand toward admiral Tykkus. "You will stand your guards down and open communications with all Resistance ships." Rey used a mind trick on the admiral. "I will stand down the guards and open communications." admiral Tykkus repeated. "Guards, return to your post. Captain Milvet, open communications to all Resistance ships." Tykkus said. The guards approaching Rey looked confused at each other, but orders were orders. They let Rey pass. Rey walked up next to admiral Tykkus. "Communications are open, admiral." captain Milvet said.

"This is Rey to all Resistance ships. I am the last Jedi, trained by Luke Skywalker. Palpatine is dead. I have learned a terrible secret that could end all life in this galaxy. We must call off this attack. The Final Order will do the same." Rey's hologram was displayed on all major Resistance ships. After her message a few seconds of silence passed, the ships still firing on the Sith Fleet. After a few seconds an admiral responded: "How do we know this is not a trap or a trick from the Final Order?" "If you have ever trusted a Jedi, you have to trust me now." Rey said as she ignited her lightsaber to show everyone she was a Jedi. Rey's hologram was visible to all ships receiving the call. Again a few seconds passed. "We will stand down, Jedi." "For the Jedi!" "Holding fire ma'am." "Returning to base." "We will trust you Jedi." These were only a few of the Admirals responding to the call as more and more Resistance ships stopped firing their turbolasers. Fighters broke off their dogfights and returned to their corresponding ships. The Resistance listened and trusted Rey, the last Jedi.

Kylo was still down on Exegol, looking up to the battle above him. She really did it. She convinced them to stand down. "How unexpected of those Resistance fools." Kylo thought. Now it was his turn. Kylo called in Admiral Pryde. "Admiral Pryde, patch me through on comms to the Sith Fleet." "At once, sir." "Ready to broadcast, sir." said Admiral Pryde.

For a fraction of a second Kylo doubted. Was it really the right thing to do? Yes, he must continue down this path. "This is Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. I have challenged Emperor Palpatine, and I defeated him. The Final Order will now follow my lead." "All ships, hold your fire. The Resistance will retreat and you will not follow them to engage. Stand down all weapons." Within a few seconds, every Star Destroyer and tie-fighter that was in combat just now, stopped firing. They did not dare question the one who defeated the mighty Emperor Palpatine. And they knew Kylo could not lie about having defeated Palpatine, because Palpatine would have destroyed him otherwise

The Resistance fleet were all turning around and jumping back to hyperspace. The Sith Fleet remained on Exegol, awaiting further instructions from their new leader.

But Kylo did not yet return to his ship. Now that Palpatine was gone and the battle above him was stopped, he remembered what Vaders voice said: The Ritual of Zendar. Kylo looked around. Where did he start? He knew nothing about this ritual. Another Sith secret? Maybe an old legend? Kylo held the Sith Holocron. Maybe the secret to the Ritual could be found in another Holocron. Kylo sat down and meditated on the power of the Holocron. It took a while to understand it's power, but once he did, he could reach out to the force and track the same sort of power. Kylo extended both his hands. He focussed on the Holocron power. He felt something. Something strong. And another, and another. There were more Holocrons hidden on Exegol! All containing great Sith knowledge of the Dark Side. But one Holocron sensed stronger than the others. Kylo closed his eyes and with his arms extended, followed this sense


	8. The Ritual Of Zendar

Kylo, still with his eyes closed, walked around the Sith temple on Exegol. He felt the power of the Holocron closer and closer. He was going the right way. At the peak of the sensed power, Kylo's hands touched something hard. He opened his eyes. A throne. This dark, stone, throne must have been Palpatine's. So the Holocron is very close. That Palpatine kept this Holocron so close to him must mean something, thought Kylo. Only one place the Holocron could be: inside the throne. Kylo held both his hand close to his chest as he channeled the force. He braced himself by standing firmly on the ground. He pushed out his arms and force-pushed a powerful blast at the throne. The throne shattered in many pieces. Inside was a floating Sith Holocron. Slightly bigger than the other Holocron, Kylo extended his arm to it. The Holocron recognized his power in the Dark Side and opened. It showed Kylo a vision again.

The vision had shown an ancient Sith lord. This time, the Sith lord was not Plageuis or Palpatine. It was a Sith species. Fury-red skinned and carrying two lightsabers around his waist. The Sith lord seemed to be inside a Sith temple. Braziers burning and Sith statues surrounding the center of the temple chambers. On the ground, there was a dead body. The Sith lord was interrupted by someone. A hooded man entered the temple chambers, also carrying two lightsabers around his waist. The hooded Sith asked: "Did you succeed yet? Did you bring him back?" while he looked at the dead body on the ground. The red-skinned Sith pulled out his two red lightsabers. "I think you were followed!" said the red-skinned Sith. The hooded Sith lord pulled out his two lightsabers and took on a defensive stance. His lightsabers were red and purple. "What do you sense?" he asked the red-skinned Sith. "A powerfull presence, as if we are being watched." "Hmm.. let's make it quick then. Many would want this if this works." said the hooded Sith lord, putting back his lightsabers around his waist. "Alright, but you keep watch Revan, while I perform it." said the red-skinned Sith.

The red-skinned Sith took out a Sith Holocron. The same Holocron that Kylo had just uncovered. The Sith knelt down and held the Holocron in both hands.

"Dano'lest Sith'ir Krinu Ranesek Dano'til Sith'an!"

The ancient Sith words were spoken by the red-skinned Sith. A few seconds later, the dead body on the ground began to shiver, more and more intensely. Suddenly, the body was gasping for air. With a deep inhaling sound, the body came to life. The formerly dead man stood up. He felt his own face in disbelief. "Am I.. is this.. real?" Asked the resurrected man. "He is back Revan! We actually did it!" Said the red-skinned Sith to the hooded Sith lord. "Well done Zendar! This will make us unstoppable!" replied the hooded Sith lord. Kylo now found out the red-skinned Sith was Darth Zendar and the hooded Sith lord was Darth Revan. "My son, I have brought you back!" said Darth Zendar to the man he just resurrected. "But father, how?" "I learned you how to transfer your essence, did I not my son?" "But you did not have the power and the knowledge to transfer your essence into a body. I have helped you with this, as no other Sith ever could!" said Darth Zendar. "With this power, we will have many rivals, many enemies, now that we carry the secret to this power." Darth Zendar said worryingly to his son, yet still very relieved that he had succeeded in resurrecting him. "Speaking about rivals, you sensed correctly. They are here." said Darth Revan. Next, the vision went black and only the sound of lightsabers and force lightning were heard. The vision had ended.

Kylo was back in reality as he had just experienced another Holocron vision. He learned of what this Holocron could do and he now knew what the Ritual of Zendar was. So Darth Plagueis wasn't the first Sith to learn secrets of keeping himself or other from dying. This ritual was discovered by Darth Zendar, who could transfer someone else's essence into a body. Kylo had heard rumors of a very powerful Sith during the Old Republic era, called Revan. So this power must have originated all the way back then.

"So this is what Vader wants me to do?" Kylo thought. "I had never learned the power of the essence transfer." said Vaders voice. "I was close to learning all of Palpatine's abilities, but not close enough." "So I can bring you back with this Holocron?" asked Kylo. "And by speaking the Sith words." Vaders voice said. Kylo entered the room where he chased Palpatine's essence. He walked further than the first time, and around a corner, there were more bacta tanks. Some seemed to contain failed cloning experiments. But his eyes caught another bacta tank. This one had Vader's body in it! Vader's body, not Anakin's body. Next to the bacta tank were a set of Vader's armor. Kylo counted 5 sets of Armor, all identical. This must have been back-up armor for Vader if his armor ever got damaged beyond repair. But should cloning Vader not result in a healthy body of Anakin? The body inside this bacta tank was burned and had no limbs, like the original Vader had. "The process is difficult. More research is required before perfection. This clone imitated the body in the stage of when the cell material was taken from me. This was after my wounds inflicted by Obi-Wan." Vader's voice explained.

"This means you still need that armor to keep you alive.." Kylo said. "Yes, and that armor is what I am." "Do not hesitate, Skywalker. Bring me back now." "Stop calling me Skywalker!" Kylo shouted. "You cannot deny my blood in you." Vader's voice said.

Kylo took out the Sith Holocron he found inside Palpatine's throne. He concentrated on Vader's essence and on his voice. He said the same words he heard Darth Zendar speak:

_"Dano'lest Sith'ir Krinu Ranesek Dano'til Sith'an!"_

Nothing happened. Vader's voice was gone. He did not sense his essence anymore. Nothing. Kylo was afraid he had failed. Did he somehow cleanse the essence? Did he prevent Vader from ever coming back? Kylo walked to the bacta tank. He put his hand on the glass, looking at the disfigured body of Darth Vader. He failed. Nothing happened. Disappointed, Kylo looked down and turned around, walking to his ship.

He suddenly heard the sound of air bubbles in the bacta tank. "What?" Kylo turned around and the body of Darth Vader seemed like it was breathing. The head of Vader looked up. Kylo looked closely until he was shocked by what he saw: the eyes of Vader opened in the bacta tank.


	9. Negotiations - Part l

Kylo froze. It worked, it actually worked. He felt so powerful. To be able to cheat death is what every Sith dreams of. Vader looked at Kylo. Kylo knew what he had to do: release him from the bacta tank. Kylo walked up to the control panel of the bacta tank. He released Vader. The bacta was drained and a machine took Vader's body out of the tank. There, his prosthetic arms and legs were attached. Finally, the armor was put on Vader. The breathing tubes were removed and shortly after that the machine attached Vader's helmet to his armor. The lights on the panel of Vader's body panel turned green. Vader inhaled. The slow and heavy breathing was once more part of the Sith lord.

Kylo always wanted to become a Sith lord like Vader. Now that he stood in front of his idol, Kylo felt so powerful in the Dark Side. Together they could do great things.

"Grandfather," Kylo said while kneeling down. "It's great to meet you in person." "And you, young Skywalker." Vader replied. "The power of the Dark Side is strong in you." He added.

"If this ritual and the cloning technology had been more advanced, you could live in your healthy, natural body?" Kylo asked Vader. "I would. Had it been just so.." Vader replied disappointingly.

"Now, we must prepare for the invasion." Darth Vader said. "Together we will organize the defense." "Tell me of the status of the galaxy." Kylo had a 1000 questions for Vader, but he admired the determination to prepare for the invasion. "We are the major power in the galaxy. The First Order was built of the remnants of the Empire, and now we have the Final Order as well. The Resistance's core planets are gone, but to our surprise, they still have a fairly large fleet and some soldiers. Rey is with them, and she managed to stand down their attack on the Sith Fleet. We took down some Resistance capital ships but we lost a small part of the Sith Fleet too."

"Understood. We have no time to fight the Resistance." "If we do, the Vong will use that against us." "Go, talk to the girl. Negotiate a treaty so we can use the Resistance to our advantage. Meet me back here when you are done." "I will take care of some things here." "It will be done, grandfather." Kylo said.

Kylo was surprised that Vader wanted to negotiate with the Resistance, but he guessed there was no other choice. Kylo felt relieved that he now had a reason to see Rey again. Kylo returned to his tie-silencer and flew to the command ship of the Sith Fleet.

In the hanger, Kylo saw a wounded Sith trooper. It was Commander Thorne, the Sith trooper commander who he met the first time he encountered the red armored troopers. "My..lord," Commander Thorne said in pain as Kylo neared him. Kylo saw blood on the face of Commander Thorne, and a charred part of armor on the left side of the chest area. "Commander Thorne, how did the battle go?" Kylo asked. "Not too good, not too bad, sir." "Our Star Destroyers were hammering their ships. We lost a few ships ourselves, but the fleet took a lot of Resistance ships down. We were sent to fight on the Star Destroyers, as they were crazy enough to land troops on them. Unbelievable.. So bold, and so many fighters. It took us by surprise." "I've lost some good men to that scum." Commander Thorne reported to Kylo. "And how did this happen?" Kylo asked as he looked at the wounds and charred armor of Thorne. "While we were engaging the Resistance troops, a downed tie-fighter crashed on us. It exploded right next to our fireteam." "I see. I need a status report on our forces." Kylo said. "Admiral Pryde has all the data, sir." "I'll go there now. Stay strong Commander." Kylo said as he walked to the turbolift. "Eh, sir?" Thorne asked. "The Knight of Ren, Vicrul, I believe he was called, didn't make it. He collapsed shortly after he landed in the hangar." Kylo stopped. Filled with rage, he had now lost all Knights of Ren. Without replying to Thorne, Kylo walked on.

Kylo took the turbolift to the bridge. He walked in and he saw Admiral Pryde and General Hux standing there. "Admiral, General, fill me in on our status." Kylo ordered the men. Admiral Pryde spoke first. "My lord, the Sith Fleet handled the sudden attack quite well. We did some serious damage to their fleet while we only took minor losses in comparison. Our estimates at this point are as follows:

Of all 9.000 Star Destroyers stationed on Exegol, 178 were destroyed and 524 were damaged.

We calculated that approximately 15.000 resistance ships entered Exegol space. Only 13752 left when they broke off their attack, which means we destroyed 1248 of their ships. These numbers are estimates, but we would have been victorious if the battle lasted until the end." "Good, well done Admiral." Kylo said. "Hux, how about our troops?" "Only a few Star Destroyers were landed on by Resistance soldiers. We sent in squads of Sith troopers and Jet troopers. Our soldiers were better trained. So far, we lost 234 men. The resistance casualties are still being counted." "Good. Our forces were superior."

"Return to your stations," Kylo said to Admiral Pryde and General Hux. "I have an announcement to make." "Patch me through to all ships." Kylo ordered the communications officer. "Patching through now, sir" the officer replied.

"This is Supreme Leader Ren. All troops stand at attention. An imminent alien invasion is underway from beyond our galaxy. The Yuuzhan Vong race is near our galaxy's borders as we speak. They have come to destroy and burn all we know. We prioritize this threat, meaning we will propose a cease-fire with the Resistance. We will begin with negotiations with the Resistance and their sympathizers in order to organize the most effective defense.

From this moment on, all First Order and Final Order forces will be united in the Empire of the Order. As the Supreme Leader of both the First and Final Order, I will hereby take the title of Emperor Skywalker.

This announcement changes many things. All that I have said will be readable on the holo screens on every ship and planet that we control.

Prepare for battle, and wait for instructions. Emperor Skywalker out."

Kylo had spoken. "I must embrace my blood. conflict within me will distract me from leading the Final Order. " Ben thought, leaving the name Kylo Ren behind him. At this point, Kylo Ren, Sith apprentice to Snoke and Palpatine did not exist anymore. He embraced his given name Ben, and took on the name Skywalker. He had Skywalker blood in him after all. And he thought it was a fitting name, as The Chosen One, the original Skywalker, had been on both sides of the force. He began on the Light Side as a Jedi, but turned to the Dark Side to save his love Pamdé. In the end, he sacrificed himself to save his dying son, Luke. As Ben had been on both sides of the force too, when he saved Rey, he thought the name Skywalker would symbolize balance between light and dark. Why would a force user be either fully devoted to the Light Side or to the Dark Side? In balance, using both the Light and Dark sides, great things could be achieved, he thought.

The looks on Admiral Pryde's, General Hux's and all officers and crew members' faces were pale. They were contemplating what their leader had told them. They had a lot to process. First of all, they heard the news of the incoming Vong invasion. The fact that Emperor Skywalker, formerly Supreme Leader Ren, prioritized this over the war with the Resistance, was very frightening. But there was more to think about. The First Order would be conjoined with the Final Order, and exist as the Empire of the Order. Emperor Skywalker would lead them into battle against the invaders. But why the name Skywalker? Many had only heard rumors of that name.

Admiral Pryde was still collecting his thoughts on all he had heard. General Hux could not help himself but to ask: "Why that name, my lord? Why Skywalker?"

Ben paused. Should he answer this question? Well, many would wonder the same thing. And he would get more respect if they knew why he took that name. "The Knights of Ren are gone. What we are doing for this galaxy, no Sith or Jedi has ever done. And it is combining those two that results in the Skywalker name." Ben said. General Hux and Admiral Pryde knew that he meant the history of Anakin who became Vader. "I see." General Hux said, still not quite understanding what was happening.

"What are your orders, sir?" Admiral Pryde asked. "Send out a signal to the galaxy. Tell them the Empire of the Order wants to negotiate about the defense of the galaxy. They can name a planet, and we will come to it." Emperor Ben Skywalker said. "At once, sir!" General Pryde responded.

Ben walked to his quarters on the ship. He sat down and he noticed that, for the first time since he could remember, felt relief. He felt relieved that he had embraced the Skywalker name, no longer hiding his family's legacy. He still wanted to let his Jedi past die, but he could now face who he was. He thought of his father, Han Solo. He had not allowed himself to think of his father since he killed him. "I am so sorry, father." Ben thought. "I regret killing you. I was deceived by my former master." Ben thought. "Mother, I am sorry for all the pain that I caused you in your life." "I had no choice after what happened during my training." Ben remembered how he had to defend himself against Luke that night he tried to kill Ben. From there, things escalated and his faith in the Jedi was lost forever.

Suddenly, he saw Rey, as he had a few times before with the force dyad. "Rey..how are you?" Ben asked. "Still thinking of all that I have learned. And grateful to be alive, because of you." Rey said. She had not forgotten what Ben had done for her. "What happened to you? I sense less anger in you." Rey said. "I have embraced my true name, and accepted who I am." Ben Said. "I am Ben Skywalker, but that doesn't make me a Jedi. I will lead the Empire. My goal is clear." Ben said. "What Empire?" Rey asked. "I conjoined the First and Final Order into the Empire of the Order, with me as Emperor Skywalker." "You have no right to use that name." Rey said. "Why? Solo never was a true name. It was given to my father because he never knew his family. I have Skywalker blood in me." "Don't you dare stain that name with your dark actions." Rey said in anger. "You don't even know what I plan to do with the Empire." Ben said. "Will you rule the galaxy? Destroy planets again?" Rey asked. "We will see what is left of the galaxy if we even survive the attack." Ben said, shifting Rey's attention to the Vong invasion. "I guess you're right." Rey said. "So what now, Emperor?" Rey asked sarcastically. "We have sent a message to the galaxy, proposing negotiations for the defense. We were surprised how many ships came to your aid on Exegol, so we did not know where to send the message precisely. Make sure the message is received by your leaders and act on it." Ben said. "I will try to convince them." Rey said.

Later, Rey met Lando Calrissian. "Lando, have you heard anything about a message from the First Order?" "I haven't. But... there is this Empire of the Order that has been sending messages all across the galaxy." "That's them! They are an empire now." Rey said. "I don't like the sound of that." Lando said. "Neither did I Lando, but i think we must hear what they have to say." "You're the Jedi kid, I trust you." "But it's not me who you should convince." "Who then?" Rey asked. "The leaders of who sent all those ships that helped us of course." "I don't think they trust anybody. It took a lot of my persuasive power to have them help us in the first place!" Lando said.

"Well, I need to speak with them." Rey said. "Best I can do for ya is inviting them to Cloud City." "Not a lot of folks refuse my hospitality." Lando laughed. "If you would do that, I'd be very grateful Lando. Rey said. "Of course! Right on it." Lando said with a big smile on his face.


	10. Negotiations - Part ll

3 Days later, Rey and Lando walked to the great meeting hall on Cloud City. Lando sent out invitations to the leaders of the worlds that sent their forces to help the Resistance at the battle of Exegol. He invited them to a special thanks for their help. Of course, this was not the real reason for the invite. Rey wanted to talk to the leaders in order for them to negotiate with the Empire for the defense of the galaxy.

"Welcome, welcome everybody!" Lando shouted as he opened the meeting hall doors. Many leaders and diplomats were in the middle of enjoying the luxuries of Cloud City, drinking the most exclusive beverages and tasting the best food in the sector. "I see you are all enjoying yourselves, I love to see it. And you should, for coming to our aid... finally." Lando laughed again, making a risky joke at the leaders for not having helped the Resistance sooner, for example when the Resistance sent out a distress signal near Crait.

This caught the attention of all guests, who were now looking at Lando. "But I must confess, there is another reason for inviting you here." Lando said. "This is Rey, the last of the Jedi Order." Lando introduced Rey. As the last Jedi took a step forward, all guests put down their drinks and food. Meeting the last of the legendary Jedi was not something they thought they would ever get to see.

"Greeting everyone. I am Rey. I have come before you because of the message sent by the Empire of the Order. "Yes, we must defeat them!" someone shouted from between the guests. "Actually, I would ask you to.. agree to the negotiations." The guests reacted with shock. Agree to the negotiations? "It will be a trap! They will slaughter us all!" Some guests replied. "Who is to say that "Yisha Wom" threat is even real?" Another leader asked suspiciously of the Empire's intentions. "I do. The Yuuzhan Vong threat is very real and I have seen it. I witnessed a vision of a Holocron. They are coming and they are close. Their numbers are beyond what we have ever seen, and their only goal is to destroy us. They feed on war and battle." Rey warned the leaders. The meeting hall was completely silent for a few seconds. "But how do we know it is real? You have only seen a vision!" Someone asked. "Not just me, Emperor Skywalker has seen it too. Together we defeated Palpatine, and after that Skywalker showed me the Holocron." Rey said. "That is why we all trusted her in the Battle of Exegol. Fighting against the First Ord-, the Empire, will mean our doom. This is about survival now." Lando added. "Noticed that the Sith Fleet did not follow us back? They stopped firing as soon as we did." Lando said. "This means they are convinced of the coming invasion as well."

"And how long before this Vong invasion arrives? Do we even know?" a skeptic leader asked. "The last thing that we have seen is that they neared the borders of our galaxy." They must have found a way to travel between galaxies." Rey said.

"If we were to meet this Empire and negotiate the defense, will you guarantee our safety? That they won't just kill us all to make the war easier?" "I guarantee that they will not betray us." Rey said, placing her trust in Ben. "I still don't think we should do it!" a diplomat said. "But if the invasion really is coming, we have a better chance fighting with the Empire than against them as well! We cannot possibly defeat the Empire and this Yuuzhan Ving invasion." another said.

A few seconds of total silence followed. "Let us meet them, then. But we will negotiate on common ground, not deep in their territory!" one leader said. "Agreed." "Yes, agreed." "Alright then." Different leaders and diplomats agreed to negotiate with the Empire. It is in both of their interests when the Vong invade...


	11. Doom Upon Us

The Resistance leaders and their followers had agreed to meet and negotiate with the Empire of the Order. At the very least they would find out if the Yuuzhan Vong threat was real. They still did not trust the Empire, but they did trust Rey, the last Jedi. Meanwhile, Ben Skywalker returned to Exegol before the negotiations with the Resistance. Vader had told him to return when he succeeded to have them agree to negotiate.

Ben flew his tie-silencer to the Sith temple on Exegol. He felt so empowered by the Dark Side there. He made his way to the area where Palpatine was defeated. There, he saw a tall, armored Sith lord, breathing heavily. Vader. "I sense purpose within you, young Skywalker." "I have my mission. Every Sith dreams to fight in a war as large as the upcoming one." Ben said. "Yet I sense fear. Not for your own life, but to lose her." Vader said. Ben knew it had no use to hide his love for her. "You sense correctly, grandfather." "Together you will be much stronger than you two could ever be alone." Vader said.

"I sense acceptance in you as well." Vader said to Ben. "Yes.. my heritage. Since the Knights of Ren are gone, and I finally know who I truly am, I have taken my own family name again. I have your blood, grandfather, and it gives me strength. I can feel it." Ben said.

"You cannot hide our destiny, you are a Skywalker, as I once was. You will rule like I never could." Vader said. "I will do my best, Darth Vader." Ben said filled with pride.

"Now, what have you accomplished with the Resistance?" Vader asked. "Rey made them listen to us. She convinced them to agree to the negotiations. They don't trust us, so they will choose on which planet the negotiations will take place."

"Impressive, most impressive." Vader said. "You and the girl, Rey, will play a vital role in this coming war." Vader said.

"And what have you done?" Ben asked Darth Vader. "I retrieved my lightsaber from a hidden vault, here on Exegol. And set two important things in motion. I met with a Mandalorian bounty hunter who once worked for me."

"A bounty hunter? Why?" Ben asked confused. "We need all the allies we can get. He has become very popular with the Mandalorian people. He could become the next Mandalore. The Mandalorians could be a great asset if they were to fight on our side." Vader said.

"I have also tracked down an old rival, a Sith warrior on Dathomir. His only will to live existed from having his revenge on Palpatine. But after I showed him that you and the girl killed Palpatine, he could not refuse the challenge of the Vong Invaders." Vader said.

"We could have some powerful allies soon, and we will need them." Vader said.

"Now, the negotiations must proceed. Go. I will come later." Vader said.

"Is that wise? Should you not stay in hiding?" Ben said worryingly. "No. They must face me and see that I am not their enemy this time." Vader said.

The next day, the negotiations took place on Coruscant, the planet where it once all began. Coruscant was one of the few planets that the Resistance still had control of. Rey, Finn, Chewbacca, Poe and other Resistance leaders were gathered in a massive dome on Coruscant. This used to be the Galactic Senate dome, where once the Republic Senators gathered to represent their people, their systems and planets.

Rey was anxious. She hoped the Empire would come. She hoped it was not stupid of her to fall into a trap of some sort. She hoped Ben would keep his word.

Suddenly the Coruscant guard captain entered the room. "The Empire has arrived." he said while addressing all those attending the negotiations. Just a few seconds later, everyone already inside went quiet. Through the doors into the dome came Emperor Ben Skywalker, Admiral Pryde, General Hux, Commander Thorne and a BB-unit, BB-9E. They were accompanied by a squad of Sith troopers. So they did come. "Thank you Ben." Rey thought.

Everyone kept quiet while the Imperials took their seats. "So. Let us begin. We have a lot to discuss." Ben said. The leaders of the Resistance were still quiet, seeing the newly arisen Empire for the first time. Would they become their end? Or maybe this time was different. It felt different, better, than with the original Empire at least, they thought.

"What do you want from the Resistance?" Rey asked. "A cease-fire, for now." Ben replied. "This coming invasion, we know little about their kind, their reasons, and their weapons. We only know they have immense numbers at their disposal, and they are set on destroying us, as they did with other galaxies. We need every ship, every soldier at the ready when they attack, for all our sakes." Ben said.

The Resistance and their followers were happy to hear the proposed cease-fire. They had been losing the war and more and more space was controlled by the former First Order. But how could they take all this risk of betrayal for a vision that only two people, Rey and Ben, had seen? Finn believed her, but Chewie and Poe were more skeptic.

The leaders of the Resistance quickly whispered in discussion among each other. "We would agree with the cease-fire, but we want some sort of proof that the invasion is underway in the first place." was their conclusion. Lando and Rey looked worryingly at each other. How could they prove the Vong were coming?

"I knew you would say that." Ben said. "That is why we have placed advanced long-range scanners along the borders of the Unknown Regions. Imperial scientists have been working day and night to develop these scanners to receive any signal from the Yuuzhan Vong. Here are the results." Ben said, nodding to BB-9E. The BB droid projected a hologram from an unknown area outside the Unknown Regions for everyone to see. The red dots were detected life sources. The Resistance leaders were stunned and shocked by what they saw. The red dots were swarming to the borders of the Unknown Regions' borders over the past days.

The Resistance leaders could not have guarantees that these red dots were indeed the Vong, but whatever they would turn out to be, it definitely looked like they were coming for this galaxy. Rey felt a dark presence nearing. It felt like Ben's presence, but different and more potent.

The Resistance leaders were startled by what they had discovered. Some leaders were close fo panicking. Just as they thought they had it bad for being at war with the Empire, things were about to get worse. "How can we defeat that?" "We must run, hide!" one leader shouted.

"You cannot hide." a deep cyborg voice said. Darth Vader entered the dome. "We must repel these invaders together." he said, as he took place beside Ben.

"Darth Vader!" Rey shouted. "Ben? What is this?" The Resistance leaders had only heard of the legendary Vader, but they were all stories of horror. Was this negotiation a trap after all? Would they all be slaughtered here and now?

"Stay calm Rey. He is very powerful and thanks to him we even know about the invasion." Ben said, defending Vader. "Where the Republic did nothing and it neglected its forces, the Empire prepared for the invasion. This is of no importance now, it is survival." "We need every force we can gather in this. Ben added emphatically.

Rey felt wrong. She heard so many stories about Dart Vader. She felt his dark presence, though she also felt the good in him. He was not just the dark butcher of Palpatine anymore.

"This was not part of the deal to negotiate!" "He is a war criminal!" some leaders shouted in anger and fear. Ben and Vader had to try to convince the Resistance leaders that the past did not matter in this situation. Finn, Poe and Chewie were all against Vader's presence, and would rather see him dead. Rey was torn in the middle of it. She had this special connection with Ben. Ahe trusted him somehow, and yet, this felt so wrong.

An Imperial officer came running through the doors of the dome. He ran straight to Emperor Skywalker. The officer bent forward and whispered something to Ben. Ben stood up from his seat, ready to share what he heard. Suddenly, a messenger came running through the doors shortly after the Imperial officer had. "We are under attack! Our home planet is being invaded and the sky is turned black with alien ships!" The messenger yelled at the leader of the invaded planet. Senator Polos from the planet Penthir collapsed. "So it has begun." Polos said quietly. This is exactly what the Imperial officer told Ben. Their long-range scanners had picked up signals that the invaders entered the Unknown Regions. Close to the borders of the Unknown Regions was the planet of Penthir.

While the Resistance leaders panicked and chaos ensued, Admiral Pryde and General Hux joined the frantic discussion on the best point of actian, Rey and Ben looked at eachother. It was as if the world around them stopped in time. They nodded to each other, walking both to a higher platform. They kissed, as they knew their end could be close. While holding each other's hand, they both turned to the people below them. Vader looked up and saw them standing up there. A sad pain entered his heart, seeing Ben and Rey standing together like that. It reminded him of his love for Padmé.

Vader hated politics, as he always had. Vader force-froze the panicking leaders for an instance, long enough for them to stop their frantic discussion and becoming quiet, trying to understand what just happened. Now, Ben en Rey got the attention of the people below. "The time to fight has come." Rey said. "Will you fight with us?" Ben added.

Chewbacca let out a powerful roar, saying he was in. "I'll fight." Finn said. Poe stood up from his seat. "Let's see how they like this pilot." "Come on, what are you waiting for! Get over there!" Lando shouted at the Resistance leaders. They fight together, the leaders decided. "Send your ships and troops to Penthir!" They all told each other.

Rey and Ben looked happily at each other. They did it. They made them work together for their common cause. "I will see you over there, be careful." Ben told Rey, giving her a quick kiss in her forehead. "I will, and you better be as well!" Rey said, looking over her shoulder and walking back down to the Resistance.

Emperor Skywalker addressed his men: "General Hux, Commander Thorne, brief your troops." "Admiral Pryde! Prepare the fleet. Navigate to Penthir."


	12. The First Defense

"Coming out of hyperspace in 20 minutes, my lord." Admiral Pryde told Emperor Skywalker. "Is every ship fully prepared?" Ben asked. "As good as can be, sir. All men are at their battlestation. TIE- pilots are already in their ships. Weapons are online and the Axial superlasers are being powered up."

"Good. Carry on, Admiral." Emperor Skywalker said satisfied.

"General Hux, what is the status on the troops?" Ben asked. "Ready, sir!" "We have Stormtroopers ready near the transports. Commander Thorne has a division of Sith troopers at the ready. If the situation requires our ground forces landing on Penthir, they will be supported by AT-ST's and ATM6' walkers." "Understood, General." Ben said.

This is it. The Empire of the Order was on it's way to perhaps the greatest war their galaxy had ever seen. They did not go alone. Rey, the last Jedi, was going too. And she had the Resistance behind her. Many ships had rallied under the Resistance's emergency calling during the battle of Exegol. Now, a part of those ships were also on their way to Penthir. They consisted mostly of MC80's, Hammerhead corvettes, Nebulon frigates and fighters such as the X-wings and Y-wings. Some of those were quite old, dating from around or even before the Galactic Civil War.

Ben thought of the situation. He never thought he would head into war with the Resistance as his ally. Were they travelling to their doom? Or would they repel the invaders? Nobody knew. But they were as ready as they could be.

Emperor Skywalker was underway with 150 Xyston-class Star Destroyers. The Resistance had sent 64 MC80-class ships, 55 Hammerhead corvettes and 70 Nebulon frigates. They should all come out of hyperspace around the same time.

They did not send their full force to Penthir. This was the first battle. They did not know what to expect. With how many ships and troops the Vong would have attacked Penthir was unknown. More forces could always be called upon. The main forces were on stand-by, in case the Vong attacked another planet or system simultaniously.

"One minute until we drop out of hyperspace, sir!" Admiral Pryde shouted at Emperor Skywalker. The battle will begin.

Ben's Star Destroyer came out of hyperspace. More and more Star Destroyers did as well. For a moment, Ben froze. He had not expected what he saw. The Resistance was already there. They must have come out of hyperspace sooner than the Empire, only if it were a few minutes.

Ben saw many Resistance ships damaged, on fire. Some were already destroyed and their debris floating around. The enemy ships were many. They looked like big rocks with some sort of coral growing on them. Those were the Yuuzhan Vong battleships guarding their newly invaded area, Penthir space. X-wings were engaging the Vong fighters in dogfights, while the Y-wings executed bombing runs on the Vong battleships, with minimal effect.

Ben looked at Admiral Pryde. "Open fire." he said. "All stations, open fire!" Admiral Pryde ordered the crew. Every Star Destroyer that had a firing line on a Vong ship began firing their turbolasers at them. The many green lasers joined the red lasers of the Resistance. The Vong ships took some serious damage, but they were not yet destroyed.

"Keep firing!" Send in the TIE-fighters!" Admiral Pryde shouted. Seconds later squadrons of TIE-fighters left the hangers and engaged the Vong fighters. This was difficult enough, but they also had to work together with the Resistance pilots. All the while both faction's pilots had different training. "Ready the Axial canons." Admiral Pryde said. "Charging sir!" the Axial crew responded on the Star Destroyers. "Charged. Ready to fire." They added shortly after. "Fire!" The Star Destroyers fired their superlasers at the Yuuzhan Vong ships. The ones that were a direct hit in the center of the ship were destroyed instantly. A great blow to the Yuuzhan Vong. But the Vong were smart. They were fast to learn where this power came from, the big canon underneath the Star Destroyers. Soon, all the Vong fighters targeted these canons, destroying them after only a few hits. This caused many Star Destroyers unable to fire the superlaser. "All TIE's, defend the Axial canons at all cost!" Admiral Pryde shouted, as he realized those canons were the key to victory.

Ben analysed the battle. Resistance ships are taking a beating. We are taling damage but holding, dealing significant damage with the turbo lasers and mostly the Axial superlaser, but the Vong ships are so many. Ben wanted to join the fight. He could not simply watch. "Admiral. You are in command." Ben said to Admiral Pryde. "Yes.. my lord." said Pryde reluctantly, knowing the danger of what the Emperor was about to do.

Ben headed to his TIE-silencer and left the hangar. He joined the battle in space. Just as he left the hangar, a TIE-fighter was shot down in front of him. The Vong fighter flew past Ben. Ben chased the fighter and got behind him. With a burst of his lasers, Ben shot down the Vong fighter. He felt the Dark Side in him, the anger, the hate, growing inside of him. He took down another Vong ship, and another. Then, a Vong battleship caught his attention. He headed to this ship to attack it, when suddenly he saw the Millennium Falcon flying in front of him, in battle with a Vong fighter. For a moment, pain and grief overcame him. He remembered his father and the way he killed him. He could never see either of his parents ever again. This feeling was interrupted by what he sensed. Rey! Rey was piloting the Falcon. Ben followed the Falcon and just as he was about to destroy the Vong fighter, the Falcon shot it down. "Rey, I'm here, behind you." Ben transmitted to the Falcon. "Ben! We're losing this! We need reinforcements!" Rey responded. "We can't. We don't know where the rest of their forces are. We cannot risk our entire fleet in this battle! We must hold on!" Ben said. "Let your fighters defend our superlasers! That is how we win this!" Ben said. "I will try!" Rey replied.

Another Star Destroyer came out of hyperspace and landed itself in the middle of the battle. It was Vader's ship. Vader was in a TIE-defender and led a squadron of TIE-fighters. "Skywalker, on me. They are destroying the Axial canons." Vader told Ben.

Only a few Axial canons were still operational. Ben, Vader and a swarm of TIE-fighters defended the last few Axial canons. A large group of Vong fighters headed for the lasers. This could be the end. Suddenly, some Vong fighters exploded. They were shot down by incoming X-wings, led by Poe Dameron, and the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Rey and Chewbacca, with Finn on the turret controls. Ben could not stop himself from smiling. Rey came to defend the superlasers. The same lasers that the Resistance swore to destroy because they could wipe out an entire planet. "Everyone on me." Ben said to the TIE-pilots as he engaged the Vong fighters, ultimately succeeding in defending the Vong attack on the superlasers.

With this heroic defense, the Empire kept firing the axial canons, destroying the Vong battleships one by one. When there were only a few of them left, it seemed to be over so quickly. Before they knew it, the Vong fleet was gone. Together with the many Resistance and Imperial ships, the debris was floating everywhere. No one had ever seen such a thing. The aftermath of a great space battle.

The space battle was over. The Vong fleet was destroyed. But it cost them a lot. They were not finished yet though. The Resistance messenger said they were under attack. This meant that the Vong had to be on the planet's surface as well.

"Rey, are you alright?" Ben asked from his TIE-silencer. "Yes. I think. Chewie, are you alright too?" "Rraaaaaarrrww" Ben heard on the communications. "So, what now?" Rey asked. "We need to know what part of Penthir they have invaded. Then, we must start a ground assault." Ben said. "The senator must know more about his people. I will ask him what part is under Vong control. Rey responded. "Good. Meet us on my ship in an hour." Ben said.


	13. Face To Face With The Enemy

An hour later, Rey, Chewie, Finn, Poe, Lando and senator Polos of the planet Penthir, boarded Ben's Star Destroyer. They entered the briefing room. They discussed their next move with Ben, Vader, Admiral Pryde, General Hux and Commander Thorne on the bridge.

Senator Polos began to speak. "My planet is being attacked right now. A horde of alien warriors is destroying and killing as we speak!" "They have attacked and conquered Pilas, the capital of Penthir." Senator Polos said with a heavy heart. "It is a big city, but so far no other areas are reported to be attacked." Polos added. "We must move quickly. Attack now while they are still in Pilas. If we don't, we will have to retake the entire planet soon." Rey said. "We could use some Imperial firepower down there." Lando said said while looking at Emperor Skywalker. "Agreed. We must be quick and merciless." Ben said. "What troops do you have?" "We've got fighters, mostly trained in guerilla tactics, thanks to you, but they will do the job." Finn said confidently. "We also have tanks and modified dropships for extra firepower." "Don't forget the wings. We can do strafing runs with the X-wings." Poe said.

"Good. Our TIE's can join them." Admiral Pryde said. "And we can deploy divisions of Stormtroopers, supported by ATM6 walkers along with AT-ST's." said General Hux. "The Sith troopers could attack from behind while their main force is occupied with the battle." General Hux suggested, looking at Commander Thorne. "We can do that." said Commander Thorne.

Vader now spoke. "This plan means nothing if we forget what it is we fight for. Every soldier, every trooper must be willing to give their life in this battle if we are to have any chance of victory."

"Who will lead our forces in this?" Lando asked in general. "You will." Rey said. "You managed to rally most of our forces to our cause. Who better to lead them into battle?" Lando hestitated. "I'm sure someone else is better to-" "Don't worry. I will be there with you." said Rey. "No, it's too dangerous! You are the last Jedi, Rey." Finn said worryingly, scared to lose his friend. "No Jedi should avoid a battle like this. If there are to be more Jedi, they will be trained out of courage and determination. I am going." Finn stayed silent. Rey could not miss this important battle. "Lando, if you would lead our forces with an overhead view, piloting the Falcon with Chewie, I will lead the ground assault." Rey said determined. "Fly my old baby? Sure, I can do that." Lando responded.

"Then I will see you on the ground." Ben said, looking at Rey. "My lord, as Emperor, I don't think-" General Hux was interrupted. "As Emperor I will lead us. We must show the galaxy that we are strong and I will not stand by. I shall join the battle." "A-as you wish, my lord." Hux said.

Ben repeated the plan: "We know what to do. We land near Pilas, attack with our full force, and destroy this invading enemy. Once and for all." While heading to the transport ships, Vader walked beside Ben. "You are doing well. You are the Emperor this galaxy needs." Vader told him. "I hope, as long as this galaxy survives the unvasion." Ben responded, boarding the transport.

On Penthir, a planet with wide grasslands, the Resistance and Empire landed their troops. The city of Pilas was surrounded by wide plains of grass, and a high rock here and there. Vong ships were overhead, hovering above the city. Many smoke trails came from within the city, indicating the violence of Vong.

The Resistance deployed a few old tanks and modified dropships, some even from the Clone Wars era. Their fighters were a rag-tag band of soldiers who wanted to risk their lives to end this threat. The Empire of the Order deployed the ATM6 walkers and AT-ST's for maximum firepower. The Stormtroopers ran out of the transportships and the Sith troopers were deployed at the opposite end of Pilas, to attack the Vong from behind.

The MC80 "First Moon" commanded by Mon-Calamari Admiral Tykkus, 2 Nebulon frigates and a Hammerhead corvette descended to the Penthir sky. Joining them were 3 Star Destroyers, one commanded by Admiral Pryde, high in the sky above their landing troops. These ships would engage the Vong ships during the battle. And, X-wings, Y-wings and TIE-fighters could easily be launched from there.

Rey set foot on Penthir ground, as well as Finn. Lando and Chewie were flying the Millennium Falcon, followed by Poe and his squadron of X-wings. The Resistance's tanks were dropped on the ground and their soldiers left their transports. They had no unity in their gear. One soldier wore an old helmet, where another wore nothing. One had green camo clothes and the other wore brown or blue. Many different blasters were used by them as well. Most of them had blaster rifles from the Galactic Civil War, but some had blaster pistols or heavy blasters.

Emperor Skywalker walked walked out of his transport ship. He had put on his repaired helmet. For the very first time, the helmet had an actual goal, other than striking fear into the hearts of the Resistance. The helmet would protect him, and it would be a symbol to all the Stormtroopers that their Emperor did not stay comfortably on his ship, but instead, joined them in battle.

Behind Ben came Darth Vader and Geberal Hux. Hux had put on his commander's helmet and armored chestplate. The tall and mighty ATM6 and AT-ST walkers were deployed and ready for combat. Commander Thorne landed with his Sith troopers on the far side of Pilas.

It did not take long before the Vong ships started to move toward the Inperial and Resistance's ships. They begon firing their plasma cannons at the Star Destroyers and MC85. They returned fire with their turbolasers. The Axial canons could not be used in this case, as the superlaser would penetrate the Vong ships and hit the planet, destroying Penthir.

On the ground, in the distance, a large horde gathered on the edge of the city. Their warriors looked monstrous. Bald and sharp teeth, tall and protected by dark armor. They wielded some sort of staff with a serpent head. It seemed like they did not have any blasters or ranged weapons.

Surprisingly, the Yuuzhan Vong horde began charging the Imperial and Resistance forces. This was unexpected, as they would have more cover inside the city. This agressiveness was scary to some, but it could also be exploited.

The Ving horde came running towards the just landed forces. "All walkers foreward, fire at will!" General Hux shouted. "Troopers, with me!" Emperor Skywalker commanded, moving forward with the walkers towards the Vong. Ben ignited his lightsaber. Vader did too.

Rey turned around. She looked at Finn and the soldiers around them. She smiled. "May the force be with you." she said. She turned to the Vong horde again and ran towards it, lightsaber held high and towards them. Finn began to run after her, followed by the soldiers. The soldiers all yelled as they rushed into battle.

The ATM6's were firing at the Vong horde. Big explosions from their lasers took out many Vong warriors with every hit but their aggressiveness did not falter. They kept coming. A squadron of TIE-fighters dove down towards the Vong horde for a strafing run. They opened fire on the horde. Again, many Vong warriors taken out, but the horde was just so big in numbers. Right after the TIE's came the Falcon, poe and a squadron of X-wings. They were firing at the horde and turned around for another run.

On the ground, both armies came within blaster range. The Resistance soldiers and Imperial Stormtroopers began firing their weapons. A hail of blasterbolts cut down the Vong warriors. Still, they were getting closer. Explosions were going off between the soldiers. The Vong were throwing some kind of disc shaped object that exploded on impact. It was no grenade, but a disc shaped insect! Their staffs were not merely weapons too, some of the serpent heads of their staffs moved, the staffs were alive. Soldiers and troopers died from the explosions, all the while the horde was now almost in melee range. Vader extended his left arm, force-choking a group of 3 Vong warriors. He lift them from the ground and them clenched his fist, killing them. Ben swiftly slashed through the first line of warriors coming at them. Rey attacked with her lightsaber as well, taking out the Vong warriors in her path. Finn encouraged the soldiers while firing his blaster.

From the air, the X-wings and TIE-fighters came down for an attack run again and again. The walkers were firing in full effect on the horde. Bodies began to pile up, casualties were rising at both sides.

Higher in the sky, Admiral Pryde was winning the battle. Only 2 Vong ships remained, but they would soon be destroyed. One Star destroyer was badly damaged, and a Hammerhead and Nebulon were destroyed.

Commander Thorne had not encountered any Vong warriors on his way to Pilas. Luckily they were too occupied with their attack on the other side of Pilas, he thought. Commander Thorne neared the city. Still no Vong to be seen. If all of the Vong warriors are in battle, they could really use their help. Thorne led the Sith troopers through the city. He witnessed utter destruction and many dead Pilan citizens. "Contact left!" a Sith trooper shouted, immediately followed by blaster fire from the other Sith troopers. A group of Vong warrions came rushing at them from within a damaged building, but they were shot down and killed. "Enter and clear!" Commander Thorne ordered the Sith troopers. The first 6 troopers formed up and entered the damaged building where the Vong warriors came from. After a short while, one of the Sith troopers came outside. "Sir, you'll want to see this." the trooper said. Commander Thorne entered the building and followed the trooper. He saw Pilan citizens, still alive, but barely. They had shackles on their wrists and necks. "Slaves?" Thorne asked. "We believe so, sir." the trooper replied. "Leave them, I need you in battle. That is our priority." Thorne said to the troopers. They left the building and continued trough the city, making their way to the battle from behind. Sometimes the Sith troopers came under attack by Vong guards, appearently left behind to guard the slaves. Finally they had reached the battle. In the distance, they saw the Vong horde in battle with the Imperials and Resistance. They rushed to the battle and engaged the Vong from behind, dividing the Vong horde into two fronts.

The battle continued. Rey dodged tbe Vong's staff attacks and killed their wielders. A group of warriors came at her. Rey force pushed them back with a powerful force-push, knocking many warriors down. She looked to her right and saw Ben fighting. After his kill, Ben looked at her. It felt like the time froze, but both looked away quickLy. This was not the time to get distracted.

Reistance tanks were firing rapidly, but most of them were destroyed by the Vong's exlpoding bugs. Some AT-ST's were destroyed, their wreckage laying on the ground. Vader was breathing heavily as he slaughtered the Vong. Ben was striking down the warriors and occasionally force-froze a group of Vong. After a while, the Sith troopers and the main force came closer to eachother. General Hux ordered the ATM6's to stop firing, in order to prevent friendly fire on the Sith troopers.

Only a handfull of Vong remained. They were shot down by Stormtroopers and Resistance soldiers. The last of the Vong were cut down by Ben, Vader en Rey. After this moment, they looked around. They were surrounded by Sith troopers, Stormtroopers and Resistance soldiers. Rey was speechless. She deactivated her lightsaber, followed by Ben and then Vader. Rey and Ben looked at eachother. They did it! They defeated the Vong and there were no signals of other attacked systems or planets by the Vong.

Rey and Ben hugged eachother and kissed as they were both so happy that the other survived. This symbolized the effect if working together against a common enemy for the troopers and soldiers. The troops cheered in their victory. Stormtroopers and Resistance soldiers shaking their hand. One female stormtrooper even kissed a Resistance soldier. "My lord.." Commander Thorne started. Ben turned to Thorne. "Go ahead." he said. "We have secured the city for the most part on our way here, sir." Thorne said. "You did well, Commander." Said Ben, turning back to Rey. "That is not all, my lord." Commander Thorne continued. "We have found slaves all over the city. They are believed to be Pilan citizens captured by the Vong invaders. "Slaves. How barbaric. Rey said. "Why would they do this?" "You can ask for yourself, lady Rey." Thorne said. Ben and Rey looked confused. "We have captured one of the Vong warriors." Commander Thorne said proudly. "You have one alive?" Darth Vader asked. "Indeed, Lord Vader." Thorne replied.

"We can learn valuable information from this creature." Vader said. "Yes, but how do we talk to it!" Ben asked. "C3PO!" Rey said excited. "3PO, he only knows about a few thousand languages from our galaxy, right?" Finn asked. "Yes, but maybe he can observe and learn their language." said Rey. "3PO is on the Falcon." Rey called to Lando and Chewie. "Lando, Chewie, come in." "Go ahead, girl." Lando responded with Chewie roaring in the background. "Please take C3PO to Admiral Tykkus on the "First Moon. We will meet you there." "Rhhhuuuurhhhuuugh!" Chewie replied. "Thank you Chewie."

3 Hours later, on board the "First Moon" capital ship of Admiral Tykkus, the captured Vong warrior shouted in the Vong language inside his holding cell. C3PO, standing outside the cell analysed the langauge. "Oh my, I believe I have learned an extragalactial language!" C3PO said happily. Rey and Ben, also waiteing outside the cell, looked at each other. "Let's go." Together with C3PO they entered the cell. The Vong warrior became silent. "Why did you come to our galaxy?" Ben asked. C3PO translated this into his newly learned Yuuzhan Vong language. The Vong Warrior was quick to respond, confirming C3PO learned the language correctly. "We came to conquer, to destroy! Your galaxy will fall like the ones before this one. It is the will of Yun-Yuzhaan." C3PO translated. "Well, it is over now, we have defeated you befire you could destroy us." Rey responded. "Defeated us? This was just one little battle. We were a scouting party testing this galaxy's defenses." The warrior replied before he started to begin with what looked like laughing. "A scouting party?" Rey said worryingly to Ben.

"Follow me." Ben said, leaving the cell. Rey walked after him, and C3PO after Rey. Ben headed to the Bridge, where Admiral Tykkus was debfriefing the battle of Penthir. Ben interrupted the debriefing. He reached to Admiral Pryde. "Admiral, activate the long range scanners and display the results on this ship." Ben told Admiral Pryde. "At once, my lord. Activating scanners now."

"Accept the transmission." Admiral Tykkus ordered his crew. A few seconds later a space map was on display in the bridge of the MC80. The map showed many red dots from outside the galaxy, massing bear the Unknown Regions. The red dots were much more than the first scan had indicated. "It looks like it was only a small Yuuzhan Vong force that invaded Penthir. A scouting party would be the correct name of it." C3PO stated the obvious.

Ben turned to Rey. "Gather all the allies that you can. This was just the beginning."


	14. Gathering Allies

_***A few days ago***_

Darth Vader was back. Resurrected by his grandson, Kylo Ren. He was able to perform the Ritual of Zendar, which allowed Vader's essence to transfer into a cloned body. Unfortunately, this body could only be constructed from the state it was in when the DNA material was taken. And in this case, it was after his wounds of his Mustafar encounter with Obi-Wan.

He had to wear his armor, his helmet again. But Vader accepted this fate. The armor and helmet made him who he was now.

Vader had sent Kylo to find Rey. He needed Kylo to negotiate a treaty with the Resistance, with the last Jedi. But Darth Vader had other plans. Before Vader returned, he learned much about Sith Holocrons. But he also learned that two important beings could greatly improve the chances of survival against the Vong.

First, Darth Vader traveled to Mandalore. He landed his ship at the docks of Sundari, the Mandalorian capital. Mandalorian soldiers were on their guard, not trusting this Sith lord. "Who are you? And what are you doing on Mandalore? the guard captain asked when Vader dismounted his ship. "I need to speak to your leader. Bring me to him." Vader said. "You come here and order me around? Who do you think yo- ghhhhhhhgg" the guard captain grabbed his throat. Vader force-choked him for a second. "As I said, I need to speak to your leader." Vader repeated himself, releasing his force-choke on the guard captain. The guard captain coughed as he regained his breath. "That power. He will want to meer you. Follow me." said the guard captain as he turned around and walked away. Vader followed him.

After a while, Vader entered a palace, high above Sundari city. "Wait here." the guard captain told Vader as he walked into a great hall, closed off by huge doors. A few seconds later the captain returned. "He will see you now." said the guard captain. Vader entered the hall. He saw a big throne at the end of it. A man sat upon the throne. Vader walked up to him.

"You should be dead." the man said. "So should you." Vader replied. "And you should be older." Vader added. "The pros of a clone. With special treatment I can control my aging speed." the man told Vader. "Tell me, how does one come to life after dying?" the man continued. "You don't know the power of the Dark Side." Vader replied. "Last I saw, you were a bounty hunter and now, you are Mandalore." Vader added. "Yes, escaping a Sarlacc pit and bringing home the trophy of its kill offers opportunities." the man replied. "Boba Fett the Mandalore. You like how that sounds?" Boba asked Vader. "I like the power it gives you, and the choice you have to make." Vader said. "What choice?" Boba asked.

"An alien race named the Yuuzhan Vong are on their way to our galaxy. They have many ships and soldiers. Not long now, they will invade the galaxy, destroying everything we know."

"How can you be so certain?" Boba replied. "I have sensed it, and seen it in a Sith Holocron. So has Supreme Leader Ren." Vader said. "What do you want from us?" Boba asked. "We have a better chance against the invaders with the Mandalorians." Vader said.

"Mandalore is not what it once was. We are neutral in the war between the First Order and the Resistance, and we will be neutral in this one." Boba replied.

"You lack understanding of the situation, bounty hunter. The First Order and the Resistance will stand together in this. The Yuuzhan Vong will destroy us all if we do not stop them. You can sit here waiting, but when we fall, they will come for Mandalore space sooner or later." Vader said. "Perhaps. That is if they truly are coming. Only two have seen this threat you speak of. Two Sith lords." Boba said, not trusting Vader and his message of doom.

"This is not a trick. If the First Order wanted to destroy you, they could do so easily. I cannot show you that the invaders are coming but they are. You will see." Vader turned his back to Boba as he walked out of the hall. "If they truly are coming, we will stand with you." Boba Fett the Mandalore shouted at Vader before he left the hall.

A fool's hope. Vader did not expect to gain Mandalorian aid this easily. Especially from their leader, Boba Fett. Fett always calculated his every decision to know what was in his favor. But now, Mandalore's aid was in all of their favor. Maybe the Mandalorians would indeed help once he knew for certain the Vong were coming.

Next destination: Dathomir. Vader sensed that an old Sith lord dwelled there. If this was true, it could be a powerful asset in the coming war.

Vader landed his ship near the base of a mountain. He sensed the Sith presence the strongest there. Vader entered a cave and went deeper inside, following the Sith lord's presence. Whispers could be heard in an unknown language as Vader walked on. It felt like he was watched all the time. The cave led to a wide-open space, with lighted torches and tall structures. The whispers were getting louder. He was now very close to the Sith lord. There was an open doorway in the middle structure. It was pitch black inside. Suddenly, two eyes looked at Vader. They were yellow Sith eyes. He found him. The Sith came out of the structure slowly, standing before Vader.

"You.. you dare enter this place?" the Sith said. "I must." Vader replied. "You..must? Tell me why, quickly!" said the Sith. "I sensed you were alive and that you have no purpose. No meaning. You rot away here, but I know of a purpose you cannot resist." Vader said. "You know nothing!" the Sith lord shouted, the whispers getting even louder. The whispers surrounded Vader, and in a green flash, transformed into women. Women with grey skin and red clothing. Nightsisters. Now, Vader found himself surrounded by Nightsisters while speaking to the Sith lord.

"I know your only purpose was revenge. Your only true goal was to kill the one that defeated you on Naboo. To have your revenge on Obi-Wan." Vader said. "Do not say that name here!" the Sith shouted. Vader continued. "And when you finally found him, older than before, you attacked him, blinded by hate. You were left for dead and Obi-Wan got away again." "Raaaarghhh!" the Sith shouted, igniting his double-bladed red lightsaber. "And then you killed him on the Death Star. You took away my chance of revenge!" the Sith said. "Yes. I had been waiting for my own revenge on Obi-Wan." Vader replied. "Nothing can change that now. Obi-Wan is gone and you rot away here without a purpose."

"I can kill you for denying my revenge." the Sith said. "You may try. If you fail, you gained nothing. If you win, you gain nothing." Vader responded, igniting his lightsaber. "You seek a purpose to your life, I can sense it more than anything else in you." Vader said. "I know of an incoming alien invasion from outside our galaxy. They have come to destroy us. This could be your purpose. Join us in this war, and we can repel the invaders." Vader said.

"The Nightsisters. They have blessed me with their dark magic. If Obi-Wan would strike me down it would not kill me. The only reason I live now is because of them and the revenge that I deserved! Why would this invasion concern me?" the Sith said. "You can keep hiding here in this lair, but they are still coming. If you plan on waiting here you will die no matter what. Join us now and together we can defeat them!" Vader said. "Your offer is tempting. I never thought something other than him would give me purpose. But if this is true what you say, I could regain my power. Maybe even rise above my vengeance." the Sith said. "You will join us then? As a Sith?" "I will." the Sith said, grinning. "You are now a Darth once more." Vader said. "Darth Maul... it's been so long since that name." said Maul.

The two Sith lords made their way to their ships, exiting the cave together. "Tell me, how did you survive your second encounter with him?" Vader asked. "As I have said before, the Nightsisters blessed me with their magic. It prevented me from death by the hands of Obi-Wan. I was left for dead in that desert, when scavengers found me. They thought they could make a slave out of me and sell me. They were wrong. Once I regained a little of my strength, I killed them and made my way to Dathomir with the last of my power. Here I was healed by the Water of Life from the Nightsisters. I stayed here ever since." Darth Maul explained.

"Impressive. The Nightsisters are powerful Dark Side users." Vader said. "That they are." Maul replied.

"It might surprise you that the Resistance if working with the First Order in this. I have also called for Mandalorian aid, but it is uncertain if they will join us." Vader said. "Interesting. A galaxy-wide defense force." said Maul.

"Travel to the Unknown Regions. Be ready to be called upon when they arrive." Vader told Maul. "I will be ready." Darth Maul responded.


	15. Invasion - Part l

Present time*

After the initial succes of defeating the Yuuzhan Vong at the Battle of Penthir, the victors thought they had succesfully defended the galaxy. However, the horde of Yuuzhan Vong that took Penthir was merely a scouting party, sent to test the galaxy's defenses and behaviour. On the long-range scanners the truth appeared clearly. The rest of the Yuuzhan Vong was on their way.

"We shall debrief on our ship." Ben said to Rey. "Allright, we'll be there."

On their way to the Star Destroyer, Vader told Ben about his efforts to find more allies. "You should know that when you were busy negotiating a treaty with the Resistance, I have tried to gain some.. assets." Vader said. "What assets?" Ben asked. "We are not the only ones in this galaxy. This war is upon us all. They were a feared faction once, a race full of warriors. The Clone Wars and Civil War buried its might." Vader said. "Mandalore." said Ben. "Yes. I have spoken to their leader, Boba Fett. He is reluctant, but they could be useful in the war." Vader said. "Boba Fett, I know that name. Wasn't he that legendary bounty hunter that died?" Ben asked. "He was known like that, and he was resourceful too because he did not die." Vader said. "Hmm. We'll see what they will do when the Vong invade." Ben said. "Anything else?" asked Ben. "A Sith warrior." Vader said. "A former apprentice of Palpatine. He was rotting away on a desolate planet. He found purpose again in the Vong invasion and will be our ally. He is strong in the Dark Side of the force." "Good. We can certainly use that." Ben said. "What is his name?" Ben asked. "Darth Maul."

A short while later, Rey, Chewie, Poe, Finn, Lando and Senator Polos entered the Star Destroyer of Emperor Skywalker. "My city, my people... so many dead." Senator Polos cried. "This cannot continue! We must protect other planets fromthese monsters! Forgive me everyone. I must also be thankfull. Without the Empire, we would not have had victory." Polos said. "Yes...our first victory.. I had hoped it would be the last as well." Ben said. "We defeated them at least." said Poe. "It will take a long time before we defeat them all." Lando responded. "With their numbers, I doubt we even can." he added.

"We've got to try." Rey said, raising hope. "We have beaten them now and we can do so again. As long as we work together and trust in the force." she added. Ben looked at her. He smiled. Always so brave and optimistic, alsmost naive, he thought. But he liked that about her. "We need to prepare for their main force. We have no idea where they will invade. We must act quickly before they do. Deny them a foothold." Ben said. "If we don't know where they will invade, how are we supposed to defend that way?" Finn asked. "Admiral?" Ben let Admiral Pryde present their plan. "We can scatter our forces to most systems in the Unknown Regions. That way, we will know when and where they will invade. The fleet closest to the imvasion points will engage them and signal the rest of our forces. Then, the systems that have been left untouched by the Vong can reinforce the systems that are." Admiral Pryde said. "One detail in this is their ability to adapt. We have seen it with Penthir. As soon as our Axial canons displayed their power, they reacted to it and nearly destroyed all superlasers. For this reason, no fleet will consist of only Imperial or Resistance ships. The fleets should be mixed, so that they cannot learn the strenghts and weaknesses of either faction or a particular fleet." Admiral Pryde presented.

"Well I guess we have to. We know the Vong don't fool around. Mixed fleets is not a bad idea." Lando said. "Very interesting to see the Imperial ships next to Resistance ships in one fleet." said Finn. "Yeah, about that... we are an alliance, are we not?" Rey asked in general. "We should send the galaxy a clear message that we are not fighting eachother anymore, that we are fighting together. I think we will get more support from around the galaxy." Rey said. "Agreed. We are an alliance. Politics will continue after this invasion, if we survived it." Ben said. "We are, for as long as it takes to defend against the invaders, The Galactic Alliance." he added, followed by handshakes and cheers from both sides.

2 days later, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded with full force. They attacked multiple systems at once, occupying most Galactic Alliance forces. Planets burned and trillions of beings died because of the invasion. The Mandalorians, led by Mandalore Boba Fett, joined the war effort. Now that they had experienced the Vong invasion, there was no doubt that Vader was lying when he came to them before. The Galactic Alliance was strengthened by the jet-pack warriors and the Mandalorian fleet.

Ben and Rey grew closer and closer to eachother. They were the most important Alliance leaders, so they were around eachother often. A sith Emperor and the last Jedi. Who would have thought? They were planning, thinking of strategies and leading their forces. Sometimes Rey and Ben would set foot on a battlefield themselves, mostly on operations where a powerfull Vong commander or leader had to be eliminated. Though these Vong leaders were excellent warriors, they were ultimately no match for a Jedi and a Sith fighting together, as they completed eachother.

At first, they were hiding their feelings for the public. But after a while they found that showing their love only empowered the Alliance. The war between the Resistance and former First Order seemed almost forgotten.


	16. Invasion - Part ll

With Jedi Rey and Emperor Skywalker leading the Galactic Alliance, the war moved them deeper into the galaxy. The first few months, they held against the Vong invaders. But eventually they had to fall back and protect the Core Worlds, leaving devastated planets behind in the Unknown Regions.

During the first months of the war, much was learned about the Yuuzhan Vong. They are a violent race, who believe war and pain is the greatest value in their life. They hate any form of technology. Therefore, they use only organic material. Their armor, ships and weapons are all organic. This has various advantages and disadvantages in the war with the Galactic Alliance. For instance, their ships do not fire lasers. Instead, they use pieces of asteroids and melt them. Then, they fire it as a plasma bolt. Another example is their warrior's weapon. The weapon is a being itself. The staff they use, is a serpent of some kind. Either rock-solid as a staff, or flaccid as a snake, the deadly weapon serves its wielder.

Now, a Vong force was closing in on the planet Sullust. Sullust was an important planet, as it was home to many Imperial factories. AT-ST and AT-M6 walkers were mostly built here, along with many infantry weapons. The planet was very rocky with large plains and mountains of stone and charcoal black sand. It was vital to keep the factories from getting destroyed.

"Rey, are your forces ready?" Ben asked. "Almost in position." Rey replied. The Galactic Alliance was defending a large factory complex on Sullust. The Imperials were dug in, with AT-ST and AT-M6 walkers supporting them. A small group of Resistance fighters led by Rey and Finn was there as well. They were guarding a wide passage to the complex. The passage had high terrain on both sides next to it. The passage was the only way to the complex, as it had high terrain all around it, making that passage the only way to enter. This is where the Resistance soldiers came in. They positioned themselves on either side of the high terrain, overlooking the passage. The plan was to engage the Vong from above when they attacked through the passage below.

In the air, high above the complex, Imperial Star Destroyers, a few Mandalorian ships and Resistance warships were waiting. Boba Fett was there, in his ship, Slave-1. He led a squadron of Mandalorian fighters in the air. The Vong always took ships with them wherever they went, so they could face off in the air. Besides, if they could defeat the Vong ships, they could bombard the Vong ground forces from the air.

The stormtroopers were waiting nervously for the Vong to arrive. Emperor Skywalker, Darth Vader and Darth Maul were among them, though not nervously. Ben had put on his mask for protection again. Rey and Finn were staring at the passage. When would they come?

Suddenly, a thundering sound was heard above. The sound of ships coming out of hyperspace. Within seconds, many Vong ships came out of hyperspace in the Sullustian sky. The fleet above the complex started to fire their batteries immediately. The Vong troop transports were seen heading to the surface, behind a large rocky hill.

In the air, a large battle took place between the ships. The sky was full of lasers, explosions and plasma bolts. Boba Fett engaged the Vong fighters.

On the ground, every soldier looked up to see the battle. "Be ready everyone!" Rey shouted. "Look in front of you." Vader said to a group of Stormtroopers, almost forgetting they had to defend the passage to the complex. Ben had seen the Vong transports land behind the rock hill, but he did not yet see their warriors. Maybe they knew what they had planned and maybe they- no there they are. Maul ignited his lightsaber and hissed at the incoming Vong. "All troops ready!" Ben shouted. "Open fire!"

A hail of blaster bolts kept being fired into the passage, mowing down the Vong warriors charging the complex. AT-ST and AT-M6 walkers opened up on the passage, blowing up a handful of Vong worth every impact. But it did not scare them off, they kept coming. Above the passage, the Resistance soldiers fired at their targets below. The Vong were getting slaughtered. This did not hold for long though. A Vong ship stopped engaging in the battle above, and fired upon the Resistance soldiers. Many were killed. Next, the Vong ship targeted the defenses of the complex, damaging walkers and killing stormtroopers and soldiers. This gave the Ving warriors the opportunity to get in close with the Galactic Alliance. They charged the complex and were met with lightsabers. Vader, Ben, Maul and Rey fought the charging warriors. The troopers and soldiers all opened fire on the charging Vong warriors.

The battle rages on. Many casualties on both sides. Suddenly, Boba Fett's heavily damaged Slave-1 flew over the passage, followed by two Vong fighters. Slave-1 went down and in the high terrain, a large explosion was seen as Slave-1 crashed into the surface. Boba Fett the Mandalore was gone. Or so it seemed. A jetpacking Mandalorian came down from the sky. Boba Fett made it out of Slave-1 before impact. He launched himself in the air and fired a rocket barrage down the passage, blowing up a group of Vong warriors.

On the ground, things were not going too well. Many troopers and soldiers were killed. Finn was wounded on his left arm, and the Vong kept charging and fighting. Something had to be done quickly. Three Imperial transports loaded with Sith troopers landed near the complex, reinforcing the defenses. They were reserved to board the Vong ships, but the ground battle had priority now.

In the air, a desperate battle was fought. The Vong ships were larger in number and the Star Destroyers were damaged. Another thundering sound was heard in the sky. Another ship came out of hyperspace. But this time it was a Star Destroyer. The admirals were confused. Dis the Vong capture a Star Destroyer? No, this Star Destroyer was older. It dated from the Galactic Civil War. "This is the Chimaera, Admiral Thrawn reporting." was heard on all Alliance ships. Thrawn? The Resistance admirals feared that name and the Imperial admirals only heard the legends of it. "All ships, follow my lead. Attack position Delta. Focus fire on their command ship." Thrawn began ordering the Alliance fleet. This united their ships and soon, the Vong command ship was taken down. It was very clear that the Vong forces were disorianted because of this. This meant that their leader was most likely on board of the command ship and had died.

With Thrawn's strategic insight, the Alliance gained the upper hand. One Star Destroyer was able to leave its formation and target the Sullust surface. "My lord! Admiral Gideon can target their ground troops! But it is danger close to our position!" an Imperial officer shouted at his Emperor, receiving the transmission of the Star Destroyer.

Ben removed his lightsaber from an impaled Ving warrior and looked around him. The risk of them getting hit by the Star Destroyer's turbo laser impact was big. His eyes caught Rey, fighting a Vong Warrior. Ben rushed to her and struck down the Vong warrior. "Rey! That Star Destroyer can end this, but it will end us as well." Ben said, breathing heavily. "We can't risk it!" Rey said. "Damnit!" Ben shouted. "Wait, the force!" Rey shouted back at Ben. "Maybe together we can shield ourselves!" "You think?" Ben asked. "Yes. But we need Vader and Maul for an area this big!"

"Vader! Over here! Get Maul!" Ben shouted at Vader. Vader force-choked a Vong warrior while he struck down another with his lightsaber, both Vong hitting the ground at the same time. Vader looked around him and saw Darth Maul in the distance, swirling his double-bladed lightsaber in combat. He reached out with his hand and force-pulled Maul to him. Maul was confused and looked at Vader in anger. "What?" Maul hissed at Vader. "You are needed here." Vader said.

"Listen, all of you!" Rey shouted at Vader and Maul. "The four of us have to force shield this area so the Star Destroyer can bombard the passage! We all need to do this for it to work in this scale!" she added. The battle raged on, with Vong and Alliance soldiers fighting for their lives and dying around them.

"Trust us!" Ben said, as he closed his eyes and extended both his arms reaching out to the force. Rey did the same, followed by Vader. Maul looked around him and decided to follow their lead. "Shield this area!" Rey shouted. "Admiral, open fire. Danger close!" Ben contacted the admiral of the Star Destroyer, still standing by.

"Understood." Admiral Gideon replied. "Open fire on that passage." Admiral Gideon ordered the crew. The Star Destroyer bombarded the passage, obliterating the Vong charge and their transports. The impacts came very close to the defending Alliance forces, but were harmless because of the combined power of the four force-users. A large force-shield kept the Alliance soldiers and themselves safe. After the bombardment, Rey, Ben, Vader and Maul stopped extending their arms and they fell to their knees, exhausted from this powerfull use of the force. They looked around. Suddenly it was very quiet. There was no battle sounds, no killing, no blaster fire. The only thing they could hear were the explosions in the sky. The Vong ground forces were all obliterated by the Star Destroyer's bombardment of the passage.

In the air, Thrawn's strategic skills led to the destruction of the Vong fleet in the Sullustian sky. The factories were successfully defended, the battle was won.

Later, in the debriefing, the Chiss Admiral Thrawn joined in. "Imperials and Rebels working together against a common threat. Very fascinating." Thrawn said. "Admiral Thrawn. You are alive." Vader said, greeting his old acquaintance. "I am, and I joined you as soon as I was able." Thrawn said. "What happened to you?" Ben asked. On the rebel attack on Lothal, my Star Destroyer got... sent into space by Purrgils. We crash-landed on a desolate and abandoned planet. It took years to rebuild our ship and return to known space. Once we rebuilt the Chimaera, news of the invasion soon reached us. We knew the Vong were attacking Sullust and chose that moment to return." Thrawn explained. "And you took over command of the battle in the sky." Ben said. "And I helped defeat their forces, Emperor. I know, like no other, that every enemy has a weakness. I exploited theirs." Thrawn said calmly. "Will you allow me to join your Empire, my lord?" Thrawn asked Ben. "Yes, we can definitely use your skills in the war. Ben replied.


	17. The Skywalker Legacy

The war with the Yuuzhan Vong invaders raged on. There was no end in sight. Many planets had turned into theatres of war. The Galactic Alliance fought bravely at every battle, but they were pushed back further and further.

Rey and Ben were in the Emperor's private quarters. They sat on Ben's bed. "We don't know how much longer we can fight them. We are l being pushed back further into the galaxy. We need to find a way to turn the tide." Ben said. "Yes, for all our joined forces, things aren't really going too well." Rey added. But let's not talk about that for now." she said. Rey stood up. "I have to tell you something." Rey stood before Ben, who was still sitting on the bed. She grabbed Ben's hand and put it on her stomach. Ben looked at Rey. "I am pregnant, Ben." Rey said, tears in her eyes. Ben stood up immediately, his hand still on her stomach. He looked Rey in the eyes. "That.. that is.. so great." Ben said, tearing up. "Our own child!" Ben said, hugging and kissing Rey. "We will raise the little Skywalker together." Rey said.

They both realized how beautiful a moment this was. But at the same time, the fear of losing their child in the war was present. "We can teach our child the ways of the force." Ben said. Rey looked at him happily. "We can train our child." she said.

Both enjoyed this moment. Finally a beautiful, happy moment in this war. Ben realized something. He was surprised by his own thoughts. "Rey.. that is it. That is how we win." Ben said. "What? What do you mean?" she asked. "We teach the ways of the force. We raise an order and turn the tide of the war!" "Wait. You want to train others in the force as well?" Rey asked surprised. "Yes. Think about it. We train force-sensitives. The Vong hate us, and Vader and Maul for our use of the force. Imagine if more warriors would use it." Ben said.

"But Ben. You know how it ended when Luke tried to train you." Rey said reluctantly. "That was different. I never was a Jedi, nor could I ever be. What I am talking about is balance. No Jedi, no Sith. The best of both." Ben explained. "I am a Sith. You a Jedi. Together we fit perfectly. Our child will become the best of both of us." he said. "Just like we would raise our child, we can teach and train others" Ben said. "But how do you see that work?" Rey asked him.

"Imagine us, training them. I teach my Dark Side knowledge and you teach your Light Side knowledge. It doesn't have to be either completely in the Jedi or Sith way, that is in the past. Let the past die." Ben said. "As a result, we will train force-users in the Light Side so they can guard, heal and protect our friends and allies. We will train them in the Dark Side, so they can fight, defeat and enforce our goals and values. That is true balance in the force." Ben said.

Rey didn't say anything yet. She was thinking about what Ben said. Training a new group of force-users? Together with Ben? Maybe it would be too dangerous, maybe they would turn to the Dark Side completely. But nothing could be more dangerous than the war they already found themselves in. "Maybe. Maybe we should." Rey said.

"We should." Ben replied. Do you remember why I took the Skywalker name? Not just because of my blood. But because that name symbolizes balance. As I explained before, Anakin and Vader are the same person. They were both at the very top of the Light Side and the Dark Side. It means more than just a name. I think it means what you are, a Skywalker. That is what we will call the ones who finish training. Not a Sith, not a Jedi, but a Skywalker." Ben said.

"That sounds great, Ben. I hope we can make it work." Rey said.


	18. Epilogue

Rey and Ben were getting married during the pregnancy. Rey and Ben Skywalker started to train the force sensitives. Some Stormtroopers, some Resistance soldiers, some citizens of various planets, all those capable of using the fore were trained in the ways of the force. Some knew they were force-sensitive themselves, while others were discovered by Rey and Ben. No one was forced to be trained, all those who received training chose for it.

The force sensitives were trained in both the Light Side and Dark Side of the Force. When they finished their training they would gain the title of Skywalker. The Skywalker Order was founded.

9 months after the plan to train force sensitives, a baby was born. Rey gave birth to Han Skywalker. Ben chose that name as soon as he found out it was going to be a boy. It was a final tribute to his father, as he could not take back what he had done. He made peace with himself now.

With the new Skywalker Order and their freshly trained warriors, the tide turned in the favor of the Galactic Alliance. Emperor Ben Skywalker, Rey Skywalker, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Admiral Thrawn, Boba Fett, Finn, Chewie, and Poe all fought side by side with the Skywalker Order and the Galactic Alliance for the next 7 years. Trillions of beings died. Countless battles were fought in both space and on planets. In the end, the Yuuzhan Vong had finally been defeated.

The galaxy was no longer invaded and no battles were raging across the stars. Because of the war, former hostilities between the Empire and the Resistance faded. The Empire of the Order remained the main power in the galaxy. Many former Resistance members had joined the Empire because they wanted to keep the galaxy protected after they had seen first hand what could happen. The galaxy needed a strong Empire to rule and protect its inhabitants. And without a rebellious organization undermining the Empire, there was finally peace.

C3PO questioned a captured Vong commander after the final battle. "We came to conquer and destroy. Because our homeworld was destroyed. We were on the run. We were hunted. Zinur. Worshippers of dark Gods. Chasing us, destroying us. They will come." Were the last words of the captured Vong commander.

If what the Vong had said was true, and the reason the Vong came to this galaxy was because they were on the run from these Zinur, a dark and terrible time was upon this galaxy. But if this galaxy was invaded a second time by the Zinur, the Empire of the Order along with the Skywalker Order would be ready for them. Maybe they would never find this galaxy, or maybe the Vong tried to scare the victors. It was all remained to be seen. But for now, Ben and Rey raised their child in peace.

**_*So this is the end of the fanfiction ladies and gentlemen. What started as a small idea to think of an alternate ending, expanded into 18 chapters of story. I really hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you think!*_**


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